


Care To Refresh My Memory?

by KrisKris



Category: Borderlands, Tales from the Borderlands - Fandom
Genre: Angst, August and Rhys are huge dorks, Comedy, Fiona the crazy cat lady, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, I suddenly shipped this one day whoops, M/M, Modern AU, Multi, Rhys I'm really sorry, Romance, Sexual Content, Slow Burn, Swearing, some consensual sex at the end, trigger warning - attempted rape
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-15
Updated: 2016-04-17
Packaged: 2018-06-02 08:47:03
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 2
Words: 22,305
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6559855
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KrisKris/pseuds/KrisKris
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After a night out with his best friend, Vaughn, Rhys wakes up next to a man he doesn't even recognize and has no recollection of what happened that night. Can the two work together or will they fall for each other in the process?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Rhys suddenly woke up to the sun in his eyes. His head was throbbing immensely as if his brain just remembered something was hurting up there. _Is this what death feels like?_ He thought to himself as he rubbed his eyes. It took forever for him to finally sit up and take a good look around. His mind was still asleep, it wasn't fully active until after twelve in the afternoon so everything around him hasn't been fully adjusted yet.

After he washed his face, he grabbed a nearby towel to dry off and gave himself one good look in the mirror. Everything was okay, his hair was a bit of a mess but was immediately brushed back. Hair looks good, skin was bare and there were hickies all over his neck and chest. He was good to go.

...Wait a minute.

The brunet rushed back into the bathroom, wide awake. He had to do a double take to examine the random marks on the upper half of his body. Not to mention, he had to try his hardest to ignore the excruciating pain on his ass. What exactly happened last night?

He groaned quietly when he noticed a hickey or two on the most visible part of his neck: all over. He began mouthing curse words to himself as he started hastily putting his clothes on, nearly ripping them as he goes. _"Shit. Damnit, crap, fuck, ass, tits, son of a bitch, mother..."_

Rhys rushed out the bathroom and into the bedroom, he gasped and covered his mouth when he saw an unknown guest sleeping on his bed. Was it his bed? He couldn't tell. His sore ass was enough proof to know this wasn't a dream, either.

On close inspection, it was indeed his hotel room. His stuff was sitting among the clothes that was carelessly tossed over last night's little fling. God knows how he was able to get a man to bed let alone a woman. He couldn't even get a girl to like him even if he tried! But damn, drunk Rhys had really good taste.

Rhys slowly went over to the blond that was asleep the opposite side of the bed. He studied the man's features. He was a blond male who looked a couple years older than Rhys. He was laying on his back with the blanket showing little to no modesty. He nearly drooled as he stared at the man's well-built frame down to the perfectly chiseled six-pack. The blond's skin was nearly exposed, save for the blanket that covered only his hips, making the brunet's cheeks burn as he knew what was hiding under there.

_Wow... he is…_

He kept averting his eyes away from the sheet that covered the man's nether regions but curiosity got the better of him. He looked at the man's sleeping face before turning his head to the blanket. With a prosthetic arm, he reached out but hesitated when he looked at the sleeping man again in case he suddenly woke up before slowly, with his index finger and thumb, lifting up the blanket.

_Just a little peek wouldn't hurt-oh. OH._

Slowly, the blanket was put back in its place. Rhys was astonished. He mouthed a simple "wow" to himself. There was no denying the sight was impressive. Really, really, massive-err, impressive. He started to panic when the man stirred in his sleep and suddenly picked up the extra blanket that was on the floor, tossing it over his nude figure. He also hated himself because right as the blanket was set, the man was on his side. A wasted opportunity to catch a glimpse of the man's posterior.

He gasped when there was a loud knock on the door.

_Shit!_

Rhys made his way to the door, panicking along the way as he was afraid the man in his bed would wake up any minute. He swung the door open, nearly ramming the person behind it.

"Vaughn?" Rhys was actually nervous this time. He should breathe a sigh of relief that it was his friend and not housekeeping but in this situation, he couldn't hide his fear.

"Rhys, hey." Vaughn said, concern in his voice. "You okay? What happened last night? You disappeared on me."

"Yeah, uhm, refresh my memory?"

Vaughn put his hands on his hips. "We were at Moxxi's last night for drinks. I went to the bathroom for a bit and then as I got back, Moxxi told me you left. Why didn't you tell me?"

"I," he began and looked inside his room. "I was feeling really sick. I might have drank too much. I thought I told her that I... I might have forgotten. Dude, I am really sorry. I still got this killer hangover right now."

"It's cool, dude." Vaughn smiled. "But, try to keep the drinking to a minimum next time?"

"Uhm, I can try to do that." He peeked inside his room again before looking back at his best friend. "So, uhm, I need to recover for a bit so I'll call you when I'm feeling better, okay?"

"Alright." Vaughn shrugged. He noticed Rhys was acting weird but it seemed almost normal so he decided to brush it off seeing as how it was still 11 A.M. so his mind was most likely dead for the time being. "I'll see you later, bro."

"See ya." Rhys watched as he walked away and shut the door quietly. He leaned against the door and sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Jesus. The hell do I tell him?"

He began to mentally curse at himself for lying to his friend. But what could he do?

_"Hey, Vaughn, so you know how I said that I was sick last night? Well, you're not gonna believe what I just woke up to this morning! A guy I don't know is asleep in my bed. Oh, but don't worry I don't remember what happened and maybe neither does he. We still up for lunch tomorrow?"_

"Stupid." He muttered under his breath and shook his head in shame as he covered his face with his hands. "Dammit, I'm so sorry, Vaughn."

Rhys' worries were interrupted when a voice shouted in distress. "Son of a bitch!"

"Crap." The brunet didn't have anywhere to hide. Whatever was going to happen, he had to let it be.

_Honestly, I don't mind dying right now. Peeking was totally worth it!_

He heard footsteps moving about the place and gulped, flinching with his arms up and blocking his hands over his face as he braced himself for the oncoming shitstorm that was headed his way.

"Hey!" He flinched when the man shouted at him. He stayed in that position even when he was spoken to. There was a long silence between the two. Rhys was sure the man probably left the room but felt he needed to take a peek so he opened one eye, he was still flinching. He noticed the man didn't do anything yet so he slowly let his guard down and his eyes were met with distressed blue ones.

Judging by the man's appearance, despite not having any clothes looked like he could kill with just one look. But he didn't kill Rhys, at least not yet. "Please tell me this is some sick joke you pulled on me. What the hell did you do to me?! Did you and I really...?"

Rhys was trying to explain the current situation but it wasn't helping that the blond was nude so taking peeks were risky but his eyes averted downward once in awhile. "Well, actually... I can't lie to you. Because even my ass is in pain right now."

The other rubbed his eyes. "That's great. Awesome." He grumbled. "Do you know what happened before we-"

"I don't know." Rhys stated, matter of factly. "I really don't know. If I knew, I would tell you but I don't."

The man was observing Rhys, if he stared at him any longer he could have put a hole in him. There was no way he could be upset with Rhys. It was only right to take his word for it.

"Look... I know this is going to take a lot of explaining but do you think you could get dressed first?" Rhys had to turn his head to keep from glancing at him.

The man looked down and quietly walked into the bedroom to grab his clothes. He was expecting to get a punch to the face but to his surprise, he was met with a view of the man's backside.

 _Oh, god yes!_ Rhys thought as he glanced up at the ceiling. _Thank you._

One thing was for sure, he never did get his name. Guess that's what happens when you somehow take a man back to your hotel room and not remember a single thing the next day. But still, the man was so beautiful. Was there a name that goes well with such a masterpiece?

"You mind if I use your shower?" He heard from inside the bedroom.

"S-Sure, go ahead!" Rhys replied as he fiddled with his thumbs looking around the room nervously, trying to find any clues as to what happened the night before but found nothing. The living room was in the same condition it was when he first checked in but now it was time to look in the bedroom. That was where the most happened and Rhys wasn't sure if he was ready to take it head-on just yet.

He heard the shower go off and assumed the man was in the bathroom. Rhys waited for a minute before going inside. As much as he enjoyed the view, he didn't want to make it any more awkward than it already was. After a full minute, he stepped into the bedroom and took a good look around. He felt heat radiating from his cheeks as he tried to remember everything the night before but to no avail. All he could think about were the disheveled sheets on the bed and quite possibly the man's... going inside his... over _and over_... Rhys shook the erotic fantasy from his mind and tried to focus on the task at hand. He couldn't think right. Not with the blankets like this. He didn't fix it completely but just enough so it covered the entirety of the bed. Housekeeping can do the rest.

"Okay." Rhys put his hands on his hips, admiring his handiwork. "That should do it." Then he went back to examining the place. It was a mess he had to admit but he had to find at least a hint or something to spike his memory at least a little. Still, there was nothing to go by. Not even a single piece of lint out of place either.

_Dammit…_

He sighed and gave in, cleaning up his clothes from the floor trying to recollect at least what little of what he can remember but he can't. He wondered how the blond felt when he saw his own clothes scattered everywhere like that. Was he disgusted? Angry? Just as shocked as he was? Rhys was starting to worry about how the man felt. The man that was using his shower... was washing off his body, the body that he imagined was pressed up against his- _No. No. Nuh-uh._ Rhys was lightly banging his head against the wall, ridding himself of the dirty thoughts that lingered in his mind.

"Be still, my beating heart." The brunet said to himself as he clutched at his chest. He had no idea his heart was racing so fast. Not to mention he somehow wound up with a nosebleed. Was his head burning up that much?

"Awesome. Oh, that's exactly what I needed right now. Thank you." Rhys grumbled as he pinched his nose and tilted his head back slightly. He looked around, not even a tissue box on the nightstand to accommodate him. Then he remembered there were tissues. They were in the bathroom. With said person in the shower. _The shower._

He had to take his chances if he didn't want to be seen covered in blood. Too bad it already got to his shirt. Rhys tried the doorknob and noticed it was unlocked. He had to let the man know he was coming inside. Gingerly, the brunet took a peek and nearly gasped. The shower had glass doors, how could he have forgotten?! Blondie was gonna be the death of him.

Rhys quietly slid the door shut, pinching his nose as he stood in front of the door. It took him so long to finally manage the courage to open the door and blurted out a little too quickly. "I'm coming inside! My nose is bleeding!"

"Really?" Was the response from inside the shower.

"Yes!" Rhys said as he dug around for the tissue box before finding it on the wall by the hair dryer which he nearly knocked over before taking a couple of sheets.

"Do I excite you that much?" The man teased.

Rhys hit his knee against the countertop and jumped. "Huh!?"

He had to ignore the obvious smirk that curled around the older man's voice. He was going to have more than just a nosebleed if this keeps up. He had to turn away from the mirror as the view of a shower was just behind him. He looked everywhere but the mirror before inspecting his nostrils after all the blood was gone.

"What, you think I didn't notice you peeping on me?"

"What?" Rhys feigned a laugh, all the while disposing the used tissues. "I haven't the slightest idea of what you're talking about."

"Relax. I was joking." He lied. Rhys wasn't all that sneaky but he gave the guy a break.

"Oh." Rhys laughed. "I-I knew that! I just thought you were being serious but I knew what you meant."

"Not the best way to meet new people like this," the man began.

"Like how?" Rhys asked. "Waking up next to someone you don't know and starting a conversation in his hotel bathroom?"

There was a brief silence when the shower turned off. Perhaps he was thinking about Rhys' words. Maybe he said the wrong thing?

"Mind handing me a towel out there?"

Rhys said nothing and grabbed one from the rack before holding it out for him, averting his gaze away from him as the man took the towel.

"Honestly," The blond said slowly, as if thinking of what to say next. "This was not exactly how I pictured my morning to go; also, to answer your question, yes."

The brunet said nothing and continued checking his nose in case it started up again before walking out the room and standing against the wall by the door when he heard him step out the shower. It was better to give the man space to change.

"This is new and uh, it's the first this happened to me, actually." Rhys spoke up after more silence. It wasn't a surprise that there was an awkward silence or maybe the silence was awkward because he thought it was awkward. But maybe it was weird having met the person you just fucked last night and not remember anything, or even knew his name.

"So..."  
"Uhm..." they spoke in unison. Okay, now it was awkward.

"You got a name?" Rhys didn't want to have to keep going back and forth like this all day so he simply took the initiative and flat out asked what he really needed to know.

"August." The blond said. "You?"

"It's Rhys." August. That sounded like a really interesting name.

"Rhys." August repeated to himself. Were they thinking the same thing or was he simply saying that to remember?

Rhys looked down at his shirt and spotted the blood stain from earlier. He glanced at the door and went to go look for another shirt.

"You know while I was in the a shower, I was doing some thinking and I think I remember something from last night."

Rhys' heart skipped a beat. What did he remember? What could he tell him? Should he be scared? Or should he start running now? If it weren't for August in the bathroom, he would've filled the tub and drowned himself in it by now.

"It's not much but.." August began patting his sides as he stepped out the bathroom. "I think I might've lost my wallet."

"That's it?" Rhys suddenly said aloud, not realising until he saw the look on August's face. "I...."

"Yeah, how could you lose your wallet when you have pockets, right?"

"Not exactly what I meant but do you remember the last place you were at? It might jog your memory if you know where you lost it." With all this talk of wallets, Rhys had to make sure he had his before making any conclusions. Fortunately, he saw it on the table and made a note to grab it before they left.

"You're right." August frowned when he noticed a scarf around the brunet's neck and felt he needed to say something. A sweater vest, really? "That's the most faggy thing I have ever seen."

"Well, whose fault is it that I have this all over my neck?" Rhys pointedly stated as he showed the marks visible on his neck.

"Don't you have something else?" August scowled, putting a hand to his face. Clearly, he was the only one to blame but he was drunk that night so he wasn't thinking properly.

"Okay, okay." Rhys slipped his shirt off and switched to a yellow turtleneck sweater. It was better than wearing a scarf, anyway. He turned to face the blond when he saw him rolling up the sleeves of his red flannel. It was kinda hot when a man rolled his sleeves up like that. He had to turn away, not wanting August to catch him making eyes his way. But damn, would it be nice to feel those arms around him.

Rhys had to mentally slap himself for thinking like that. He shouldn't be thinking that way, especially if the man didn't seem interested in him. Last night was most likely an accident. August didn't seem the type to swing in a certain direction. Maybe he was being polite because he was still hung over. The two suddenly met eyes and Rhys couldn't help but stare back at him.

His eyes were really blue.

August looked away after what felt like a long time and scratched lightly at his face. "Your eyes."

"Uhm?" Rhys was taken aback. "My what?"

"It's nothing." August shook his head. "I just, I don't think I've ever met anyone with two eye colors before. It's just interesting to me."

Rhys felt himself blushing all of a sudden but he was glad August wasn't looking when that happened. It was the first time someone had ever pointed that out. He received more than his fair share of the attention on his prosthetic right arm than a bit of blue and brown.

"I think I know where I lost my wallet." The blond changed the subject and brought Rhys' attention back to him.

"Okay. So right after that maybe we can get some coffee or something."

"That sounds like a good idea." August agreed. Fuck this hangover. He was craving some strong coffee right about now.

\--

 

They decided to head to Moxxi's bar first thing. That was the last and only place they remember from the night before. But whatever she knew might help them get more clarity, that is if she doesn't throw in an innuendo or two their way. The two of them walking in together would stir up something. Even though August was only here to find his wallet.

The bar was empty, save for a few customers sitting by the counter closest to the television. There, they spotted Moxxi, who was filing her nails as she sat on the bar stool. She didn't bother to look up when they approached her. "How big was it?"

The two of them looked at her in confusion. Rhys thought she meant differently but then assumed she was just making innuendos until she winked his way. Guess she also meant that, too.

"Look, I'm just here to get my wallet." August explained. "After that we're outta here."

Moxxi shrugged and slipped her fingers into her top and took out a plain, leather wallet then handed it back to the blond. "Is that really all you came for? I don't expect a man to stay since they always come and go after one night. I also never took you for a man of leather. My, how kinky!"

"Well, we were also just wondering if you knew what happened last night." Rhys managed to ignore her sexual remarks. He had to shake off the thoughts of August being into something like that. Not that it was a bad thing, he was okay with whatever people were into, it didn't bother him. It was his mind going down the gutter. Although, he wouldn't mind a bit of bondage if it was with August. Where was all this going again?

"I see." Moxxi didn't seem surprised. It happened often where people were so drunk they couldn't even remember their own name. Seeing as how the two of them came in here asking her about this could only mean one thing. "You two were hitting it off nicely last night." She glanced at them both and pointed to the other as she made her explanation. "I thought you were going to punch him when he started getting really close to you but then you got really handsy. And you might have mentioned 'your place' before the two of you left. Is that enough for you or would like to take in more?"

Rhys was a blushing mess while August rubbed his eyes, annoyingly. There was a mix of emotions between the two so no one was sure if it was a good thing or a bad thing. They were quiet for a moment. Moxxi was sure they were probably broken as they stayed standing in the same position for a while. Rhys was probably petrified at this point until Moxxi snapped her fingers at them. "It's not so bad. Things like that don't last very long. You guys will be fine and you'll move on from this in no time once you piece everything together."

"Thank god." August seemed to breathe a sigh of relief but to Rhys, it felt like a stabbing pain in his chest. He should also be happy, but he couldn't bring himself to think it as a good thing. He wasn't sure why. Was it normal to feel disappointed even after having drunk sex with someone you just started knowing today?

"That's a real shame." Moxxi sounded a bit disappointed herself. "You two would've made a cute couple."

August abruptly turned away and headed out the door. "I got what I came for. Thanks, Moxxi."

Rhys leaned in close to the bartender, speaking softly enough just for her to hear. "S-So about what you asked earlier if it was....well, actually, it's massive. Like. _Huge_."

"Rhys, let's go!" August shouted to him as he was already at the door.

"Thanks again." Rhys said quickly before catching up with the blond.

As soon as they left, Moxxi rested her chin against her hand. "I meant the size of his wallet. But, I guess money wasn't what he was after. Best of luck, Rhys."

By the time they left Moxxi's bar, it was already noon. Rhys was up and running at this point. He went to grab them some coffee while August sat on a nearby bench outside waiting. For some reason, the sunlight felt really refreshing today despite the obnoxious hangover pounding away at his brain. He stretched his arms and as he leaned back, he was met with Rhys hovering over him. Startled, he moved away and turned to look at him.

"Hi." Rhys greeted him with a smile and handed him a cup of freshly brewed coffee as he sat down next to him. The aroma was amazing, August couldn't wait to take a generous gulp of that.

"Thanks." He took a huge sip and glanced over at the brunet.

Rhys took in a whiff of the coffee with a content look on his face as he removed the lid and had carefully set the hot beverage between his legs. He noticed the other took his coffee black. He wondered how people could like that and not feel sick about it. He watched as he tore two small packets of sugar and poured them into the cup before lightly stirring it with a mixing straw, putting the lid back on. He disposed of the packets along with the straw in the garbage can next to him. But before he could take a sip, he felt eyes on him and turned to August who was already looking the other way.

It was just really interesting to watch Rhys. He wasn't sure why but the smile on his face made his stomach do somersaults. That's never happened before. Nothing happened all morning but it felt nice. He wondered what it was like to see it often. If it were directed only to him. What the hell was he thinking? He was going to bail when they finally found out what had went down and acted like nothing happened. But why did he feel so upset all of a sudden? He barely knew the guy except for his name. He glanced at Rhys again and saw him take a sip of his coffee.

What would the taste of black coffee be like on his lips? Would the man get flustered if he were to kiss him right here and now? It would be kind of funny to see his reaction.

 _Get your head out of there, August._ He thought to himself as he shook his head.

Rhys was watching August the entire time and grew concerned when the man looked upset. "August, you alright, buddy?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." He replied and sipped his coffee. By fine, he meant punching a wall just to get it out of his system. Coffee wasn't going to cure the strange feeling in his chest. He had to move on before it drove him nuts. "How can you tolerate that shit? Black coffee is basically death."

"I don't know what you have against black coffee but I happen to think it's got a refined taste compared to cream and sugar. And it's fancy. Besides, I have a high affinity for caffeine. I love black coffee."

"Is that why you haven't gotten laid for real?" August let out a big laugh. "God, black coffee tastes so awful."

"Shut up." Rhys spat back as he held the cup close to his face and consoled it softly. "It's okay, baby, he didn't mean that."

"While you make out with your new friend, I'm gonna go find some place to eat. See ya." August got up from his seat, leaving Rhys behind as he went to go find his car.

"W-Wait!" Rhys called back after him. "You're not really going to leave me, are you?"

August didn't respond and kept walking down a parking lot with Rhys chasing after him, coffee in hand.

On the car ride there, they were listening to the radio. Rhys wasn't a big fan of the music and felt like wanting to change it. "Hey, August, do you mind if I--"

August cut him off. "Don't touch my radio. Driver picks the music, passenger shuts his cakehole."

"But, I didn't even-Wait a minute, that was a reference from something, did you make a reference to something?"

"How are you so talkative all of a sudden?" The man hadn't said much words this morning but now he was all over the place. August was beginning to wonder if the coffee had something to do with this.

He switched from the radio to CD. This time it was something a little softer. Maybe it'll calm the brunet down for once. He just looked like he couldn't sit still.

_Put your hands on my body_  
_Till my clothes hit the floor_  
_I know you barely know me,_  
_But tonight I am yours_

Rhys raised his brow, giving August a questioning look as he turned to him. "I always took you for a metal type of guy. I didn't know you listened to Jhené Aiko."

"Guess you shouldn't judge someone based on appearances."

"Oh, contraire my blond friend! I happen to be open-minded. Like how I'm very open-minded when I saw your..." Rhys cut himself off. He might have said a little too much. "I mean, that is... when I looked at..."

"At what?" The tone in his voice sounded almost irate.

"Oh, would you look at that! We're here!" Rhys pointed as they reached the diner just up ahead. With a sigh of relief, the subject was long forgotten about when August didn't say anything else.

 

At the diner, they were seated at the booths. There was a mother and child sitting in the far corner of the restaurant. The child was throwing a tantrum, screamed and started crying while his mother began gently shushing him.

The two were watching them and turned back to each other. Rhys shook his head and they both said, "I hate kids."

August was taken aback and looked to the brunet. "I pictured you as a kid person."

"Guess you shouldn't judge someone based on appearances." Rhys taunted with a smirk. He turned when he felt a nudge and looked down at a stack of pancakes lathered in chocolate syrup, covered in ice cream with whip cream and sprinkles, topped off with a cherry on top.

The two looked up at the waitress in confusion. Rhys needed to say something to her. "Hey, uh..." he check her nametag. " _Yvette._ Not to be rude but we haven't ordered anything yet."

"Also, what the hell is it?" August added.

"It's your dish." Yvette simply stated. "You don't remember the conversation you two had with my boss?"

"You know, I don't think I recall. Mind refreshing my memory?"

The waitress sighed. "Well, you and my boss were talking about how there weren't any good flavors of pancakes." She explained while the two just got more and more baffled with every word. "You said you wanted more ice cream with pancakes and that pancakes should taste more like bananas."

August looked at Rhys with a look of concern and bafflement. _Bananas?_

"But with that said you also mentioned, 'Why not make it a thing? Let's call it banana split ice cream pancakes. Drown it in chocolate syrup and cover it in ice cream!' My boss also mentioned if you guys ever came back to serve it to you. As a surprise. It's a new thing on the menu we're promoting. I have no idea how you managed to convince him but you did. No one was able to get him to appease for anything. Oh, and don't worry, it's free." She continued before flashing them a smile. "Enjoy!"

Rhys gaped as she walked away. "But-I..."

August doubled over laughing. "Are you serious?" He had tears in his eyes. "The fuck?! This looks like food for stoners!"

"Ughh..." Rhys facepalmed. "The hell? Pancakes? Of all things. _”Pancakes.”_

"Not to mention it's banana-flavored." August laughed. "What an idiot.”

"I'm more of a waffle person."

"Hey! Would you look at that! My two favorite amigos." A deep voice rang out and they looked around.

"Who said that?"

"Rhys, August!" A well-groomed suited man approached them as if meeting some old friends. "How's it goin'?"

"I'm sorry, who are you?"

The man bellowed laugh. "You kidder!" He slid into the booth next to Rhys. "It's me, Hugo Vasquez!"

"Oh, oh! Yeah, hi! It's good to see you, too!" Rhys exclaimed before looking at August, making eye conversation with him.

_”The hell is this guy?"_

August shrugged and gave him a thumbs up. _"Just go along with it”_

"So how do you like the pancakes?" Vasquez was grinning ear to ear, waiting for an answer.

Rhys kept a smile on his face as he glanced at the uneaten flapjacks on his plate. "Well..."

"You know it looks so pretty, we're actually afraid to eat it." August answered for him.

"Why don't you just snap a picture and post it on Instagram? It'll last longer." He gave Rhys a pat on the back before getting up. "It was nice seeing you two again. I got work to do, so I'll see you later. Let Yvette know what else you want. It's on me, okay?"

"Oh, well, thanks...Vasquez."

The smiled was wiped off his face as Vasquez walked away. He breathed a sigh of relief and sat back in his seat. "How the hell did we do that?"

"I dunno but he said it was free." August glanced down at the food in front of them. "But really, bananas? Are you sure you weren't just high when you made those suggestions?"

"Don't ask me that, I'm still upset at the fact they aren't waffles!"

"Why do you care?"

"Because waffles are way better at holding maple syrup while pancakes absorb them."

"Wow, you and waffles have one thing in common: you two are a couple of squares."

"I am not a square!" Rhys shoot back and said to himself. "At least, this 'square' has good taste in men."

"What?" Came a muffled response.

Rhys looked at August and noticed he was halfway through with the pancakes. "Are you seriously eating that?"

"It's free!"

Sighing, Rhys closed his eyes and slowly wiped at the piece of food that landed on his cheek. _Maybe you're high._

"You gonna eat that?" August asked as he looked at Rhys' plate. Rhys eagerly slid the plate over him. There was no way he was going to eat that. He liked-no, he LOVED ice cream, the only issue was that the pancakes seemed too much for him. It could make do with a little less.

Yvette returned to check up on them. "You guys doing, okay?"

"Can I have an order of waffles?" Rhys requested. The mere sight of the pancakes was making him feel queasy.

"Not a big fan of your idea, huh?" Yvette gave him a sympathetic look as she took his order down.

"I don't know what I was on when I suggested that."

"You were probably high." August kept saying.

"I don't even smoke!" Rhys retorted. High, drunk, it didn't matter. All he knew was that he blacked out the night before and was stuck cleaning up drunk Rhys' mess today. The hell else did he do in one night? And just how long was Vaughn in the bathroom for?

"Anything else for you?"

"I'll have some coffee. Black, please?"

"Black coffee again? You just had some a half hour ago."

"Well, I like it okay?" _Just like how I like you._ Rhys said that last bit to himself. There was no way August liked him just the same.

"I'll have your order for you in a few minutes, okay?" Yvette said before walking away again.

"Thank you!" Rhys yelled back at her. He then glanced over at August who was finishing the other plate that Rhys refused. Guess he wasn't the type of guy that wasted food. Then he noticed a bit of chocolate on the corner of the blond's lips.

He thought about wanting to lean forward, cupping the older man's chin and lightly with his tongue, licking it off and pulling him into a kiss. He wondered if August was into something like that. A smile suddenly appeared on his lips and he couldn't stop it. He had turned away but August has caught him.

"The hell you smiling at?" August scoffed.

Rhys had to think about that pancake monstrosity to keep a straight face. "Nothing. I-I just thought you looked really silly devouring that pancake." The angry look on the blond's face made a giggle slip out accidentally.

"I'll kill you if you keep laughing at me." The man scowled and grabbed a napkin on the dispenser to wipe his mouth. Christ, his chest was acting strange again. Just what was so silly about him eating? Did he have something on his face?

"S-Sorry." Rhys stuttered an apology as he fiddled with the straw in front of him. Then, he suddenly felt curious about something and looked up at August. "Hey, so, uh, can I ask you a personal question?"

"What is it?" August looked back at him, his arms crossed as he was already finished with his food. Boy, did he eat fast.

"Do you have a preference?" Rhys felt really embarrassed asking such a question out of the blue. He did wake up next to a man this morning; that much he knew.

"Why do you care?"

Rhys shrank into his seat at the piercing blue eyes glaring him down. Now he was feeling uncomfortable. Was he too forward with his question or was that something you weren't supposed to ask a person you just met? It could have been both, he wasn't so sure. "I was just curious. I mean we did...together...possibly."

"Last night was just a misunderstanding." August shook his head. "Don't take this the wrong way but I'm not really into guys."

Rhys raised a brow in disbelief, a smirk forming on his lips. "Really?" The brunet wasn't so convinced about his answer. "Are you sure I didn't just awaken something inside of you when you looked at me trying to drink my coffee earlier?"

"What are you talking about?" Did he catch him making eyes at him? There was no way. He was sure Rhys was distracted by his coffee to even notice him give a single glance.

"Oh, come on, August. It was totally obvious that you were looking at me. Don't think that just because I'm putting in two sugars doesn't mean I'm blind."

"Shut up."

"I want you to make me." Rhys teased but then his smile faded when August returned the favor by kicking him in the shin under the table. "Ahhahahow..." he whined while August laughed at his pain.

"Oh, you'll pay for that." Rhys kicked him back.

"Ow!" He glared and kicked again.

"Dammit, not so hard, asshole!"

"You asked for it!"

Rhys growled and kicked him once more. Oh, it was on.

"Knock it off." August said through clenched teeth but he kept kicking him.

"You first!" _Wham!_ That kick was a lot harder than the last ones.

August closed his eyes and took a breath to keep from shouting. "Swear to-Rhys, I'm warning you." He threatened. "I will kill you." He moved in for one kick but Rhys was faster, the brunet intercepted his leg with both his own and crossed his ankles, pushing all his weight on his legs to hold him down.

When August tried to pull away, his leg wouldn't budge. "I really am gonna wring your neck if you don't let go of my fucking leg."

"You started it!" Rhys pointed accusingly at him and flinched when August grabbed his wrist.

"Bite me." The blond growled.

"...I'm sorry, should I make this to-go?" Yvette walked in while she noticed the two were playing footsie and now they were about to get physical in the restaurant.

The two quickly moved away from each other, August letting go of his wrist followed by Rhys removing his ankles from his leg, sitting normally. "No, no. It's totally okay. We're fine. He just kicked me."

"I think that was more than just a kick." Yvette said to herself as she placed Rhys' order in front of him then taking the empty plates from August's side of the table. As she walked away, Rhys glared him.

"The hell did you kick me for?" Rhys whispered.

"I was trying to shut you up but I might have just made it worse." August scowled, rubbing his shins. "Fuckin' asshole."

"That makes two of us." Rhys muttered bitterly as he covered his waffles in strawberry syrup. The pink substance slowly making its way around into the squares and dripping out onto the plate.

"What about you?" Now it was August's turn to ask the question.

Rhys nibbled at his waffles before answering his question. "Well, I'll have you know I am good with women."

August snorted at his reply. There was no way Rhys had the potential to pick up girls so smoothly. "Oh, yeah?"

"What, you don't believe me?"

"Okay, casanova." August looked around the restaurant then spotted a couple of girls that just sat down at a table and were handed menus. "Since you're such a pro at getting women then try to get them to sit over here."

"Wait, what?" Did Rhys hear that correctly? "Y-You want me to hit on them?"

"Well, can you do it or not?" August shrugged. "I thought you said you could? Or was that just a front?"

Rhys sighed. "Fine. But you owe me ten bucks if they say yes." He slid his plate over to August, who slid it to the empty seat beside him.

"Fifty says they'll turn you down and you'll come back here eating the rest of your waffles in complete silence."

"Alright. You're on."

August smirked and held out his hand. Rhys looked down at his hand, confused. "You're not walking away from this table till we shake on it."

Rhys shrugged and shook his hand, slowly pulling away. _Whoa... his hand is really warm._

The brunet stood, clearing his throat and straightened up a bit, brushing his hair back then giving August a reassuring glance before he approached the two woman. He wanted to just walk past and rush to the bathroom but then he felt the blond watching him. There was no way he could maneuver himself out of it. It was either do or die, well, metaphorically speaking. But even if he did run away, August would be expecting a crisp, fifty-dollar bill in his hands. Unfortunately, Rhys didn't carry a fifty. He only had one shot at this. Now he regretted ever opening his mouth. He cursed his egotistical swagger for getting him into this, now he had to get himself out.

The redhead he somehow made eyes with looked over at her friend and whispered to her. "Don't look now, Sash, but we got company."

The girl with dreadlocks was about to look back when Rhys stopped at their table. She flashed him a smile and greeted the brunet. "Hi!"

"Hello, ladies."

"What can we help you with?" The redhead brushed her bangs away from her hair as she glanced up at him.

"I couldn't help but notice you ladies from across the room." Rhys said smoothly, all the while mentally cursing himself and August for making him do this. He put on the façade that he was a total babe magnet. When in reality, he wasn't.

"That seems very nice of you. What was your name?"

"Rhys is the name, babe watchin's my game."

The redhead chuckled, that was such a cringeworthy line. She felt sorry for him. "Okay, Rhys. Well, I'm Fiona."

"Sasha."

"Nice to meet you, Sasha. Fiona."

If Fiona didn't know any better she would have bought all his words hook, line and sinker. But seeing as how Rhys was trying his best to pique their interest she felt it would be fun to humor him. "So what brings you over here?"

"Oh, you know. I'm just here with a friend of mine and we thought you two would like the company."

The two of them looked behind him and saw August glancing out the window. They looked at each other then back at Rhys.

"Yeah." Sasha replied.

" _What?!_ " Rhys and Fiona exclaimed in unison.

" _R-Really?_ " Rhys was surprised. He didn't think they would accept his invitation and so quickly, too. He cleared his throat. "Really? I mean I'd hate to impose on any plans you two were going to have."

"It's no big." Sasha shook her head and turned to Fiona. "Right, sis?"

"Yeah, we were just here to eat. We didn't have anything to do for the day, anyway." Fiona went along for the ride. "Just give us a few minutes, okay?"

Rhys nodded and gave them a quick smile before heading back to August.

Fiona's smile faded and she looked to her sibling. "Sasha, what the hell?"

"I felt bad for him!" Sasha held up her hands defensively. "I mean it would have been funny to reject him. Just to see him so jilted. But, hey, let's just humor them."

"Yeah. I mean, do like a free lunch if they're paying for us."

Sasha smiled. "See?"

"Guess you're right."

Rhys came back to a slam on the table, August slipped a ten over to him.

"You've convinced me." He scowled. "Now take it before I change my mind."

"Thank you." Rhys said as he slipped it into his pocket before moving over sitting next to him.

"Okay, you're way too close."

"Sorry." He moved one foot away to give the man his space. He smiled when the women approached their table and sat down, Sasha facing August and Fiona seated in front of Rhys.

"Hi."

"Hey."

"Fiona, Sasha. This is August."

"You two make an interesting pair." Fiona commented when she looked at the two.

Rhys laughed. "That's a strange way of explaining our friendship. But, no we're completely platonic." He pat August on the back. "Right, buddy?"

"Don't touch me."

"Ahaha. Oh, you."

August stomped on Rhys' foot from under the table.

"Gahhh!" Rhys suddenly shouted and the entire restaurant looked their way. "Sorry! I just hit my knee!"

"Okay..." Sasha glanced back at the menu.

Fiona had already decided on something so she was leaning back on the booth, waiting. She gave August and Rhys a look as she observed them.

Yvette returned and glanced over at Fiona and Sasha. "Friends of yours?"

"Yeah." The group responded.

"Alright, well, what can I get for you?"

Fiona pointed to Rhys' plate at the poor waffles being devoured. "I'll have what he's having."

"I'm feeling a bit adventurous today, got anything interesting?"

Yvette took down their orders. "I believe we do. But it's a surprise."

"Oh, I guess I'll have that then."

"Anything to drink?"

"Just some water."

"Sweet tea for me." Fiona requested.

"Alright. I'll be back shortly." Yvette said before going to get their drinks.

"Rhys, a word?"

Rhys got out of the booth and waited for August to slip out before following behind him.

Sasha looked through her phone while Fiona tilted her head curiously, watching the two head towards the bathroom.

August was looking through the stalls to make sure they were alone before turning to Rhys. "Let's get one thing straight: One, don't touch me. Two, we, okay, we, are not friends. Once we get this shit figured out we go back to our lives, okay? Pretend last night never happened. Agreed?"

"Yeah, sure..." Rhys wasn't sure why but he felt a bit sad. Sure, they woke up naked in Rhys' hotel room without any recollection of last night but did August hate him that much? It wasn't even his fault. Honestly, he didn't know who started making out with who but he knew for sure who was on top.

"You alright?" August was looking him over.

"Yeah, I was just-yeah, yeah. Fine." Rhys answered a little too quickly. "Are we done?"

"Yeah." And with that, August left. Rhys was still mulling over his words. He was already dealing with another internal problem he was having lately. He felt bad for lying to Vaughn and wondered if he was doing okay. He hadn't called, not yet, thankfully. What was he going to say if Vaughn saw him with August? He had already went over this with himself before but still he couldn't shake the feeling that he betrayed his own best friend somehow. Lying to him was one, but he needed a good explanation if he saw August....a _reasonable_ one. He rubbed his face annoyingly. Right now was not the time to be worrying about it.

 _What he doesn't know won't hurt him._ Rhys thought to himself as he turned on the faucet to wash his face.

He returned at the table roughly ten minutes after that talk with August. The three of them were laughing about something as soon as he got there. "Hey, guys! What are you all laughing about?" He took his seat next to August.

"Rhys! You're back!" Sasha greeted as she saw him.

"We were just talking about you. We got worried that maybe you had fallen in." Fiona mused.

"We were going to have August check up on you after five more minutes." Sasha added.

"No need to worry!" He said with an awkward chuckle. "I'm back now."

And with that said, Yvette came back with Sasha and Fiona's orders. Sasha was taken aback at what the hell she just ordered. She didn't want to make a face out of politeness to Yvette's presence. "Is there anything else you need?"

"I think we're good, thanks." Fiona smiled and nodded at her.

"Let me know if you need anything." Yvette waved before checking up on another table.

"What the hell is this?" Sasha put a hand on her head.

"Isn't that what you ordered?" August snickered at the look on her face.

"Well, yeah but..."

"Weren't you the one who said you were feeling adventurous?" Rhys pointed out.

"He does have a point." August agreed.

"I did say that, didn't I?" Sasha furrowed her brows as she looked at her order. But she decided to give it the benefit of the doubt. "I mean it doesn't look _that_ bad."

"It looks like something a stoner would eat." Fiona laughed as she helped herself to her waffles.

"That's what I'm saying!"

"Come on, Sasha!" Rhys was encouraging her.

"Even _I_ ate it." August remarked as he leaned his hand on his cheek.

"But what is it exactly?"

"It's a...promotion." Rhys hesitated to answer.

"Rhys is friends with the owner." August explained. He could feel Rhys slowly bringing his flesh hand to his face out of sheer embarrassment. "He said there wasn't enough banana-flavored pancakes. That's where this came to be."

Fiona gave Rhys a look. "What the hell were you smoking?"

"To be honest, I have no idea."

"I think I see a connection here, though." said Sasha as she was breaking down the pancake with each bite. "It's got chocolate and strawberry ice cream! The chocolate syrup and the whip cream, I think it's banana split!! Gosh, this is so good!"

The three of them watched in awe as she began chowing down. A few of the customers overheard and began pointing over at their table as soon as the waiters and waitresses took their orders. Within minutes, the entire place was roaring with orders of banana split pancakes.

"Rhys!!!!" Vasquez cried as he shook the brunet out of sheer joy. "We're making so much money because of you!"

"Yeah, yeah, that's great," Rhys said, unfazed by the shaking. It was to be expected but uncalled for. "I'm glad it's a success."

"Rhys, buddy, if you ever need a business partner, you know where to find me." He flashed him a wink before slipping him his business card and walked away.

Rhys glanced down at the card in confusion. "Uhm..."

"Congrats on the business opportunity?" Yvette said slowly.

He pinched at his nose and sighed.

"Just trying to lighten up the mood."

Rhys dug into his pocket and handed her the ten August gave him.

"Rhys?" The waitress was taken aback. "What are you...?"

"Just take it."

"I don't know if I...but that's so much-"

"Please," Rhys cut her off. "Don't ask questions. Just. For your troubles."

"Uhm, alright." She took the ten and slipped it into her pocket.

"It's...I'm fine, really." Rhys gave her a half smile. "I have to get going. Uhm, my friends are waiting outside."

Yvette nodded and called out after him. "Have a good day!"

"You two were pretty chummy." Fiona jokingly stated from his encounter with Vasquez as he got out.

"Yeahh... I rather not talk about it."

"You alright?" Sasha asked him.

"I'm actually still trying to figure that out myself." Rhys replied with a forced laugh.

They looked at August who merely shrugged. Fiona put a hand to her side and a finger on her lip in thought as she looked at Rhys. "Hmm..." He looked like he needed to unwind. "Hey, you guys have some time? I think I know a place you guys might like." She glanced at Sasha.

"But isn't it a little too early?"

"For a drink?"

As soon as he heard the word "drink" he felt he needed to make a promise to sobriety. He didn't want a repeat of what happened last night. He was almost afraid it might not even be August he wakes up next to this time. If it happened again would August keep him close this time or make it seem like Rhys didn't learn his lesson? Rhys really didn't want to have to go through with that again. Although, it wouldn't surprise him if the next day he arrived at a bar and invented a whole new cocktail. That idea sounded highly unlikely but if he were drunk it sounded possible.

"Or you know, if you don't want anything alcoholic just get their virgin cocktails or something."

Now that was something he could get behind. But the virgin part sounded alien to him. As knowingly, August was his first. But August didn't know that. Not that he was going to tell him or anything. He'd probably just laugh at him. It didn't seem like it was his first, though. He wasn't sober enough to feel it, therefore, it couldn't be. According to August, it was just a misunderstanding. If that's all it was, then why was Rhys still so bitter about it?

"Rhys, you still with us?" Fiona waved a hand in front of him.

"Yeah, I'm totally down." Rhys had no idea what they were talking about but he hoped he didn't agree to anything weird.

"Okay. So we're all going." Sasha declared. "Which car we using?"

August and Sasha were in the background conversing about how to get there while Rhys' mind was elsewhere, looking at August while Fiona was already having a growing suspicion of Rhys, assuming he was staring at her sister. She crossed her arms while glaring daggers at him until he finally noticed and turned away.

"Let's just use my car." August suggested since they were already in front of it.

"I call shotgun!" Sasha declared as she rushed to the passenger seat.

"Aww, I was about to call shotgun!" Rhys whined as he got into the back seat. He was met with a death glare by Fiona from the opposite end. He let out a weak chuckle. "Oh, Jesus-criminy-Christ, August! What the hell!?" He shouted in surprise at the blond who had crushed him with his seat.

"Whoops." August said with an obvious smile on his face before adjusting his seat upright.

"I hate you." Rhys glared at him from the rearview mirror.

"I know." He laughed as he clipped on his seatbelt and started the car. "No funny stuff in the back seat, alright?"

"You guys seem pretty close." Fiona pointed out while Sasha giggled.

"They seem like the best of friends."

 _More like a school bully that likes to poke me with sticks._ Rhys thought bitterly. Was he usually like this around people? He never did that before. It had only been a day and oddly enough August was being rather playful. The hell was going on?

"Hey, Rhys, you know you've been acting weird ever since you got out the bathroom." Sasha pointed out as soon as the car exited the parking lot.

Rhys glanced at the rearview mirror where he and August met eyes for a second. He had to turn away and glance out the window. "Oh, yeah. I actually drank a lot last night so I'm still feeling a bit sick so I'm cutting down on the booze for now."

"Ugh, I understand how that feels." Sasha agreed as she shuddered.

"You're telling me!" said August. "Guess who had to drive him home."

"Dude, August, I am so sorry."

"Hey, at least you threw up in your own house."

"Oh my god." Fiona laughed. "And you had to clean it up?"

"Someone had to do it." Both Rhys and August knew that all wasn't true. Neither of them knew anything of what happened the night before but August was playing it cool but it made for a good conversation starter. The entire way there, they all had their fair share of drunk stories.

\-- 

As they arrived there, Rhys was even more surprised when everyone greeted him by name and he had never been there before but he went along with it. He really liked the attention. What had he done to get on everyone's good side? Even the mysterious DJ greeted him. They approached him and held out a fist. Rhys took that as friendly gesture and gave them a fistbump, he knew what that meant and he could never leave a bro hanging.

"Rhys, good to see you! / Have you come here to hang out? / I see you brought friends./"

"Yeah, just wanted to show them around." Rhys was geeking out on the inside. This was Zer0! People would spend a fortune just to get them to play music for special occasions, even a house party! Their music was kickass and it was almost impossible to try and to duplicate any of their works. There was just something about them that couldn't be compared to anything, they were just so flabbergasting it drove him insane.

"Oh, man, I just couldn't wait to come back to see you!" Rhys was elated. He didn't ask questions to how they knew him but he sure as hell was going to take advantage of the situation.

They nodded in appreciation. " **< 3**"

The little interaction they had with Rhys made August feel slightly annoyed but why? They were just talking to him, it wasn't like they were flirting with him or anything.

"Well, I should be going now./ I'll see you around./"

Rhys excited waved to them as they left. "Bye, Zer0!!"

"You and Daft Punk over there seem to be really friendly with each other." August said coldly. It bothered him that they were being friendly with Rhys. But then again, it shouldn't even be bothering him. Was he being... no, there was just no way. He couldn't be jealous, right? He didn't want to admit that he was. It felt weird of him to be acting like that so suddenly. Wasn't he the one that told Rhys there was nothing between them? He was only reminding him why they were doing all this just for Rhys' sake and his own but now he wasn't so sure anymore.

It was his own fault for saying those things now Rhys was probably going to hop to whoever comes along. He was worried that "Mr. Helmet Head" over there would get to him first.

"I don't believe it." Sasha was in awe. "You know Zer0?! Not many people can talk to them since they're always in their turntables so high up. I usually just see them talking to Moxxi or getting booked to random events but I have never seen him interact with someone like that before. They seem nice."

"And they speak in haiku." Fiona mentioned. It was an interesting fact she learned after that conversation they had with Rhys.

"Their music rivals Bossanova. Bossanova is more heavy on the dubstep while Zer0 is more electronica, synth-acoustic with some R&B influences and they are just way more chill." Sasha explained as they went further into the club. "It's got this transition from slow to upbeat. It's way more mainstream than bass dropping. Guess that's why everyone likes Zer0 a lot more. Even the lyrics are pretty romantic. I wonder who he got to sing them."

"You sure know a lot about music." August was impressed.

"I have a lot of time on my hands."

Rhys frowned as the two were hitting it off nicely. They were having an interesting conversation about the difference between the many styles of metal and which was the superior genre but that argument went unanswered. It bummed him out how well the two got along...was he jealous?

Fiona wore a scowl on her face as she looked at Rhys. He had barely said a few words to her ever since he spoke with August and it seemed a bit odd. It seemed as if August was getting pretty close to Sasha and Rhys was disappointed about it. Did August say something to him to make him act this way? She needed to know who to strangle: Rhys or August, or just to kill them both?

The club was still a bit empty as it was still daylight, save for a few customers at the bar. Although, it seemed a bit bigger than normal. Whatever was attracting a crowd was surrounding the bar. Curious, the group went over and was met with Moxxi who turned around. She immediately recognized Rhys and August, greeting them with a big smile on her face. "August! Rhys!" She said excitedly. "It's a pleasure to see you two! Well, it's always a pleasure. You two couldn't stay away from me? Oh, and you brought company! But, don't worry, we have enough room."

"Moxxi? I thought you were just at..."

"I was. But then I got bored and closed up early. So I came here." She explained. "I own this place, too, in case any of you are wondering."

"That's impressive." Rhys had to respect her line of work. He had never been here before so it was his first time. But apparently, for drunk Rhys, it was like he owned the place and knew everyone while he couldn't keep a decent conversation going when sober. "I-I mean, sometimes I forget that."

"And did I mention we got a new girl?" Moxxi pointed over to the side of the counter over to the barista with short, blue hair mixing drinks and turning glasses at every angle, not even spilling a single drop. She wore black leather shorts and a yellow and black crop top exposing the tattoo markings along her left arm, leg and chest. She impressed the crowd with her handiwork and tossed the drink around before gracefully pouring the colorful liquor into a tall glass, slipping a little lemon wedge on the rim before topping it off with a straw and sliding it over to one of the customers across the other end.

"That’s Maya. She's a friend of Zer0's." Moxxi said as she turned back to them. "They've got a good eye for people. Because she's pretty good with her hands."

The barista looked over at the group and flashed a wink as they looked her way before passing a little martini glass to the woman in front of her.

A little smile curled on Fiona's lips. "Now I know where my new hangout is."

"I hear she's single." Moxxi whispered over to them. "But she's really hard to catch so good luck."

"Not if I can help it." The redhead chuckled but then she remembered something she had to do first. "Hey, Rhys. Can I talk to you for just a sec?" She grabbed his arm, pulling him aside.

"Uhm, sure."

"You guys want something to drink?" Sasha called out after them.

"You know what I want, Sash!"

"Something non-alcoholic, please? For me!"

Fiona dragged him to another part of club to an isolated area where they were alone.

"Uh, Fiona, aren't you going a little too fast here? I mean we just met and-"

"Not that kind of talk, you asshole!"

"I'm sorry but did I do something wrong for you to call me an asshole because I need to know what I did."

"Stay the hell away from Sasha!" Fiona demanded, pointing a finger at him. "I'll make sure to talk to August, too."

"What are you talking about?"

"Don't think I didn't see you making eyes at my sister."

"What?" Rhys had the look of confusion in his eyes. "I do not like Sasha! At least, not like-like... like that."

"Wait, so you're not after my sister?"

"No!" He cried out exasperatedly, running his hand through his hair.

The sudden outburst surprised her. So he and August weren't fighting over Sasha? Then why was Rhys... It didn't take her too long to realize who he was actually after. "It's August, isn't it?"

" _Huh?_ " Rhys' eyes widened and his heart skipped a beat, he had to act as if he had no idea what she was talking about.

"Oh, don't play stupid. You know what I'm talking about."

"Fiona," he began. "I don't even know what I'm talking about."

"Do you like August?"

"Yes-! No-I don't know..." Rhys looked Fiona in the eye. "Listen, Fiona, there's something I need to tell you. And, it's about me and August."

"Rhys!"

The two of them turned to the voice that was behind him. “Vaughn..." Rhys said and looked around. "What are you doing here?"

"I was going to ask the same question." He said. "You feeling better, bro?"

"Yeah, I think so."

"Great, so when were you going to tell me that you had plans with someone else?"

"I'm going to find Sasha," Fiona was quickly walking away from him but was pulled back by Rhys's prosthetic hand.

"You're not going anywhere." He looked at her sternly before turning to Vaughn. "I have to tell you guys something."

"This better be good." Vaughn put his hands on his hips.

"Why do I need to be here?" Fiona jerked her hand away as Rhys let go.

"I-I want to tell you but I'm afraid you guys are going to judge me."

"Rhys, we've been friends for _ever_. There's no way I would judge you!"

"I'm already judging you." Fiona shrugged. "And it's only because I think you're an idiot."

"Okay. But please don't freak out."

"How bad would it be to freak me out?"

Rhys pulled down on the collar of his sweater to reveal the dark marks all around his neck.

"Oh."

"That-That is a lot."

"Yeah. And, uh, I might have one on my inner thigh. Don't ask."

Vaughn raised a finger in question. "Okay. I have two questions. How and when?"

"Last night....and I have no idea with 'how'. But my 'how' is how long were you in the bathroom for?"

"Probably long enough for you to go off and do something crazy over the course of one night."

"I'm still confused on that part." Fiona rubbed her forehead.

"The drunk part of me did all this shit. I woke up naked with August in my hotel room this morning." Rhys confessed. "Somehow I was at Moxxi's bar where August lost his wallet, then I was at the diner where I somehow suggested banana-flavoured pancakes, not to mention I have a new business partner and also wound up here-to how everyone here knows me. I'm not sure in what order but I did it. Somehow."

The two of them stared at him, mouths agape. He was sure a fly went in. "Guys? You with me?"

Vaughn blinked, trying to take in everything he just heard. "I...I'm gonna need a good five minutes to process all of this before I could go on."

"Rhys, wow." Fiona finally spoke up. "I don't know how to say this but when I thought you were an idiot before, I had no idea you were an even bigger idiot."

"Look. I don't even know how I did it, when I woke up everything just slapped me in the face." Rhys shook his head then looked at his best friend. "How did you find me?"

"This morning since I thought you were sick I figured you might want to get some food when you got better, I had a friend who worked at a diner to look out for you. What she told me when she saw you sort of surprised her. Also, to answer to your question, I wasn't expecting to find you. Another friend of mine dragged me over here for a drink."

"She? You mean, Yvette?"

"Yeah." Vaughn nodded. "She knew someone went by that name last night but she never did see your face because it got busy. But after you left, she sorta just called me. Dude, if you had a problem you should have told me. I mean, why the lie?"

"I didn't want to but I didn't want you freaking out when you find some random guy in my room."

"You do have a point."

"Wait. So you and August aren't friends?"

"We just met......this morning.

"Oh my god!" Fiona put a hand to her cheek.

"That's it. From now on, whenever you come to visit, you are staying at my house."

"Why wasn't that arranged before?"

"Because this is the first time it's ever happened!" Vaughn said defensively.

"Okay, guys. Please." Rhys had to end this argument short because people were staring when Vaughn started to get loud. This was getting a bit awkward.

"Sorry." Vaughn said softly. "I just started freaking out because you never did anything like that before. Was it because of Angel-?"

Something inside of Rhys snapped and he yelled. "Vaughn!" He frowned when he saw his best friend flinch and he turned away. "I...I'm gonna go..." And he went to go find Sasha and August.

"Angel...?" Fiona turned to Vaughn.

"It's...A long story. Rhys doesn't like to talk about it."

Rhys came back to the bar to find Sasha and August. The two were just having a casual conversation. They looked serious about something. He felt like wanting to eavesdrop but they were across the room and the music had gotten louder. He wondered what they were talking about but he saw Sasha knowingly nod at whatever August was saying. He gripped the fabric of his sweater, it hurt seeing them together. He wanted to run away but he might end up having to run into Fiona and Vaughn. He didn't want to have to explain the situation. He was slowly backing away when Sasha eventually spotted him.

He waved and faked a smile as he went over to them. "Hey, so what are you two up to?"

"Rhys, it's totally okay. You don't have to be smooth about it." Sasha told him. "August just told me everything."

"What?"

"You-know-what."

"Oh, okay, so we're telling everyone now?"

"Not everyone." August said under his breath.

"Guess that makes us even."

"You didn't."

"I did. Fiona actually thought about something else."

"Like what?"

Rhys remembered the angry look on Fiona's face when she spoke to him earlier. "You know, I'd rather not say. Hey, are those our drinks? Which one is non-?" Sasha slid the tall glass with the single cherry floating in carbonated liquid.

"Oh. That clears everything up."

"Is that the French 75 that I ordered? Come to mama." Fiona walked in, taking the glass into her hands.

"I asked for a strawberry daiquiri earlier and somehow got two by accident."

"I'll take it."

"Who's that?" Sasha glanced at Vaughn curiously.

"I met a new friend." Fiona replied.

Sasha merely shrugged and let him have it.

"Vaughn. This is Sasha, August and Rhys."

"I believe we already met." Vaughn smiled at the brunet.

"Yo." Rhys waved.

"Nice drink."

"Thanks, cutting down on booze."

"I'll say."

"Everyone already knows what happened between me and Rhys." August suddenly announced.

Vaughn spat up his drink while Fiona coughed on a sip.

"I had to say it." August said as Rhys looked at him.

"I already believed you the first time, might as well let the entire club know!" Fiona cried after she regained her composure.

"Well, since we're all up to date. Rhys, I got a question for you." Vaughn stated. "How big?"

Now it was August and Rhys' turn to choke up.

"Vaughn, that is not something you ask at the table!" Rhys coughed as he pat his chest.

"Come on, we're all adults here." Fiona nudged for Rhys to go on.

"Yeah, Rhys, it's all good fun." August wanted to know but he clearly knew what Vaughn was talking about but he preferred to hear what Rhys had to say.

Rhys felt like digging a hole for himself and just curling up into a ball. But, dammit, his own best friend dug him into an even deeper one. He was too scared to speak up so he pulled out his phone and briefly gave Vaughn a look before typing away a message. He sent a row of embarrassed emojis followed by enamoured ones, a couple of hearts, a thumbs up, an eggplant and a trophy to leave for his own interpretation then hit send.

With a small chime, the man receives the message. It didn't take too long for him to decipher it since they had began using it as a joke. He looked at the group before announcing: "It's massive-err, impressive. _Impressive!_ I meant impressive. Sorry, Rhys."

"Whoa."

"Go, Rhys! Oww!!!"

"You know that how?"

"I....took a peek while you were asleep this morning." Rhys moved an inch away from him. "Please don't kill me."

"What, no photo?"

"You got an eggplant!"

"That's not enough-" Vaughn looked at the message again. "Oh, there's a trophy on there. I see what you mean."

After a few drinks, Fiona was already completely wasted and was slurring her words as she was telling a story. "Okay, so I'm walking there and this guy drives up like 'Hey, girl, whas your sign?' And I say, 'Stop'. Then he's like, 'No, seriously, I wanna know ya name, girl'. And I said, 'It's no'. And then he looks up and he shouts 'Oh noooo!' As he hits a stop sign." Fiona laughs at her own poorly made joke. Everyone is simply making unenthusiastic remarks and weak laughs were exchanged but they started to lose it as she started to snort in between laughs. They were all practically in tears.

"Okay, Fi, I think you've had enough to drink right now-" Sasha jumped when her sister grabbed her drink and held it close, hissing and clawing as the foursome backed away from her.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!"

"Fiona, you need to calm down." August ordered as he moved away.

"I'm Catwoman!!" She said as she pounced on the table. " _RRREOW!_ "

"Whoa!"

"Oh my god, she's out of control!" Vaughn shouted as he, Rhys and Sasha hid behind August.

"Why are you all hiding behind me?!"

"Because you've got muscle and I think you're the only one who can hold her down!" Rhys said as he clung to him.

Fiona was making tiny circles around the table, clawing and hissing as they watched her.

Rhys whimpered at how Fiona was acting. "I'm scared. August, hold me."

"Get offa me!"

"Is she always like this?" Vaughn asked Sasha. This really was a bit scary.

"Not...necessarily." said Sasha. "Only when she's had too much tequila."

"So how do we get her to stop?"

"We don't. We either wait till she catnaps or get someone to tame her."

They all turned to Rhys and Vaughn pushes him over to her. "Do it, bro!" he says. "If you die, I'll give you the most epic-sounding eulogy ever!"

"Why me?!"

"You will not die vain, Rhys, I believe in you!"

"Goddammit, Vaughn!" Rhys cursed as he carefully approached Fiona, eyeing her as he goes.

Fiona glared at him, observing his actions. Rhys felt like a dead man. He looked back at his friends and Vaughn gave him a thumbs up.

"It was nice knowing you, Rhys."

"That's not what I wanted to hear from you, August." Rhys turned back to the redhead that was giving him a death glare. He stepped forward and she backed away slowly. "It's okay, Fiona... it's Rhys. I'm not here to hurt you." He takes another step then jumps when she moves back a little too quickly and falls off the table.

"Fiona!"

August quickly turns away, holding back a laugh while everyone rushed to her side.

"Fi, you okay?"

"Am really a cat? I didn't land on my feet. Can I still be Catwoman?"

"Yeah, totally. You can still be Catwoman." Vaughn said as he helped her up.

"Okay, well, since Fiona's doing fine I'm gonna use the bathroom."

"Wait, wait." Fiona hands Rhys an empty glass.

"What the hell am I supposed to do with this?"

"Use it. Just use it to pee in and whatnot."

"No, I am not peeing in this!"

"Don't even-Don't even worry about it. They'll think it's sparkling cider."

"Are you serious?"

"Dead serious," She said. "I mean when you look at it maybe but just don't smell it."

Rhys set the glass down onto the table before going to find a restroom. "I'll be back."

\-- 

He had just finished and was now washing his hands. He heard someone come in but didn't consider looking up when he dried his hands, assuming they were just going to use the urinal since the stall door didn't open and shut. But as soon as he turned around he was met with a man who was too close for comfort that Rhys moved away. To make matters worse, the only exit was blocked when the man's friend came in.

Already this didn't look good for him. There was a party happening and the music was too loud for anyone to hear him cry out for help. His friends were all the way up the second floor and the men's restroom was in the most secluded part of the club. Not to mention, the women's restroom was ways away so there was no one else around and the only time anyone would go in is almost close to never or at least until whatever dark commodities these two men had in store for him were finished. Rhys didn't like where this was going.

"C-Can I help you two...?" Rhys asked, trying to hold in his fear but failing terribly. "The stall is open and the urinal is free if you need it." He foolishly stepped, back against the wall. He mentally kicked himself for making himself so vulnerable. The man slammed his hand against the wall, blocking Rhys' way.

He looked into the man's eyes. Of all his encounters with blue-eyed people, this was the first that he had seen one so threatening. Even Angel's dad didn't have eyes this hostile when they glared him down. "Wh-What do you want?" Rhys tried to make himself sound threatening but he couldn't mask the stuttering. Damn the anxiety he was feeling at that moment. He was just afraid of what they were going to do. Were they going to sell him drugs and force him to buy it then have him take it? If they were looking to mug him, they wouldn't accomplish much. He only had twenty-dollars, a handful of ones, his driver's license and a credit card. Not that they could get away with taking his cards anyway. He only hoped it wasn't the worse case scenario.

The man was eyeing Rhys. The brunet felt really uncomfortable with the way he was looking at him. He wanted to disappear. It felt so disgusting and it was then that he knew what the man's plan was. He was really hoping it wouldn't be that.

"Oh, we're just looking for a little fun." The man's breath smelled like alcohol and cigarettes. Was he drunk? "You wouldn't mind joining us, would you?"

Rhys cleared his throat and slowly inched away before maneuvering himself under the man's arm and making his way to the exit when he found an opening. "I actually have to go. My friends are waiting outside."

"Hold him down!"

"What?!"

It had all happened so fast. He felt strong hands suddenly grab hold of his arms and he was pulled back.

"What are you doing?! Get off me!!" Rhys was shouting as he tried to squirm away from the other man's grip. "Let me go! Dammit!"

"This one's a fighter, isn't he?" The man chuckled as he looked to his friend, the one holding Rhys down. "Don't worry, it'll be over before you know it."

They all turned abruptly when the bathroom door swung open and the man Rhys saw earlier, witnessed the scene in front of him. He shouted out to him, begging. Tears began welling up from his eyes. "Please! You have to call someone! You can't let him do this!! Please! You gotta find August! Anyone! Please!!"

"Shut up!" The man glared at Rhys then turning to the man at the door. "Either you fuck off and close the door or you'll be joining him!"

"No, please!! Get someone!"

The young man looked into Rhys' eyes before running off.

"DON'T!!" Rhys cried as he watched the man flee. This wasn't looking good. He really wanted to puke right now. Just vomit in the man's face and run off but if he were to do that, everyone would think he was just drunk when he really wasn't.

"Why are you doing this?!" Rhys yelled. "Why don't you just jerk off alone like every other guy would do?"

"How's about I jerk off and get it all over your face then fuck your ass?"

"You're disgusting!" Rhys was practically screaming at the man. "Men like you are scum!"

"I don't know about this, man." His friend said, trying to talk him out of it. "What if he really does come back with someone?"

"He won't." The man said sternly and looked at Rhys. "Besides, who would believe him?"

\-- 

"Rhys has been gone a pretty long time." Sasha glanced at the stairs where Rhys should have been climbing by now.

"Do you think he fell in for real?"

Fiona made the impression of a metal vocalist growl. "Catwoman need milk!"

"I don't think so." Vaughn said. "He usually takes three minutes in the bathroom."

"Three minutes?"

"Depending on how many people there are in the bathroom, usually four." explained Vaughn. "Takes one minute to wait for a clear stall and make sure it's clean before using it. About thirty seconds to go, the next thirty seconds to wash his hands and at least one minute to get back here."

"It's been more than five already." August pointed out. "Honestly, I'm starting to get worried and I think I have a bad feeling."

Vaughn got up from his seat. "Yeah, me too. I think I'm gonna go check up on him."

"I'll go with you."

Fiona was squatting on the railings as if she were about to jump down onto the first floor. "Looks like this is a job for Catwoman!"

August picked her up before she could spring into action and set her back down.

"No, no," scolded Vaughn. "Catwoman is going to stay here with Sasha in case Rhys comes back."

"Aww, okay."

"It's okay. I can manage her on my own."

August nodded before they headed downstairs to find Rhys. On the way there, they notice a young man looking distressed and talking with one of the clubgoers but he appeared to be having no luck when they merely shrugged him off, assuming he was just on something and refused to hear him out. He walked away, not realizing he had walked into Vaughn and August.

"Whoa!” Vaughn nearly stumbled over.

“Are you August?” The mysterious male asked them, distressed.

August eyed the man carefully. “Who are you?”

“Please, I need you to come with me.” He said and took his hand as he ran.

August looked at Vaughn, confused while they ran after him.

\--

Meanwhile, Rhys was still squirming and shouting obscenities at the man, not wanting to give him the time of day to have his way with him. He was even kicking at the air, trying to act like a madman into changing his mind and calling it quits but that didn't stop the man from punching him in the gut. 

Rhys gasped, the air was knocked out of him. He coughed and dropped to his knees, groaning in pain. "Go to hell-! _UGH!!_ "

"Fucking shut him up!" The man growled as he pulled him in, grabbing his legs and started to undo Rhys' belt then pulling his pants down. 

His friend covered Rhys' mouth to keep him quiet but Rhys was resilient. He shook his head, still crying out behind his hand. But then he remembered something important. The brunet weakly reached up for the man's hand and pulled at one of his fingers, bending it back while he bit down on his hand.

"Oh, fuck..." the man holding Rhys down was wincing in pain. " _Aaagh!_ "

"The hell's your problem! Shut up!"

"I CAN'T! HE'S BITING ME!!"

Rhys bit down and he bit down hard. He was trying to break the man's finger in the process. He sank his teeth deep, breaking the skin as the taste of iron was fresh on his tongue. With a shout, his accomplice drops Rhys to inspect his hand.

"You fucking-!"

The sudden rush of adrenaline was rushing throughout his body. Rhys pushed himself up and grabbed his assailant by the shoulder and punched him in the face with all his might, knocking the man off balance sending them both falling to the ground.

It took a moment for Rhys to get his bearings straight before getting up and rushing out the door, hastily fixing his pants and readjusting his belt. His mind was still in shock over what just happened. It was overwhelming and he felt like he just might lose it if they try to get to him. He held himself close, trembling as he walked. How the hell was he going to explain this to them? He didn't know how. He couldn't find the words, only tears.

"Oh my god, there he is!" Vaughn called out as they reached him. "Rhys!"

August turned to the mysterious male. "Thank you."

Rhys was lost in thought as he walked past them, not thinking as he continued walking forward.

"Rhys?"

"Rhys!" August reached out touched his shoulder before turning him around.

Rhys screamed from the sudden contact when he was abruptly turned. "Rhys, it's me. It's August."

"August?"

"Yeah, Vaughn's here with me. You're gonna be okay.

"Rhys, what happened?" Vaughn asked him gently since his friend was out of sorts.

"I...AAHH!" He screamed when a phone went off. August took out his phone, it was Sasha.

_Hey! So did you find Rhys?_

"Yeah, he's right here but he seems disturbed about something." 

_What do you mean? What happened?_

"I dunno. I don't think we're getting any answers from him in this state. We need to get him to calm down first."

_Oh, god. Okay, well, we're at the bar right now. Catwoman decided to jump down from the second floor._

"Jesus-I thought you said you can manage her on your own?!"

_I know. She somehow got away from me but she's alright. She landed on her feet onto a table. Anyway, we'll meet you there._

And with that, she hung up. August glanced over at Vaughn who shook his head.

"They're at the bar." August told him. "Don't lose, Rhys."

"Don't need to worry about that. Because I think you've got him." He pointed at Rhys who had his grip on August's forearm. He was still shaken up, his eyes fixated to the floor.

\-- 

"My, aren't you a pretty kitty." Maya said as she pet Fiona gently before lightly scratching under her chin.

Sasha and Zer0 were simply watching them, while waiting for August and Vaughn to return with Rhys.

"Has she always been that way?/"

"Not unless you give her enough tequila."

"I see. That's quite odd./"

Sasha jumped out of her seat once she spotted the trio, running towards them. "Rhys!"

"Give him some room." August said as he got Rhys to a seat.

"Rhys, are you okay?"

"What happened to him?/"

"Rhys?"

"Moxxi, get him some water!"

"Is he okay?"

As soon as Rhys felt hands on his shoulders, he went ballistic. "DON'T TOUCH ME! DON'T FUCKING TOUCH ME! GET OFF ME!! GET! OFF!!" He screamed and flailed, shoving off all the hands that touched him. Then made himself small, hiding into his arms.

" **D:** "

"Look, we tried talking to him. But we couldn't get a single answer. Even August tried but every little noise made him scream."

"I don't know what's happened to him. It's like he's lost his mind or something."

"Excuse me."

Rhys didn't have to give a single glance as he recognized that voice. That god awful voice that tried to sound friendly. Slowly, he sat up with a dark expression on his face. This was great. Just great. What did this filthy rat want now? First, he tried to sexually assault him in a public restroom now he wanted to harass him in front of his friends? Did he not just punch him previously? Had he not learned his lesson the first time? He had about enough of this.

"Sorry, is my friend bothering you?" The man chuckled but August wasn't convinced that Rhys knew this man. Everyone that Rhys had encountered knew who he came with and they all glared at him. Even Moxxi noticed the change in Rhys' attitude but said nothing on it. She wanted to see what this would entail and how far it would go.

"He's usually like this when he's had too much to drink." He approached Rhys and touched his shoulder. "You alright, buddy? Come on, everyone's waiting. Let's head back."

Rhys finally snapped and stood up abruptly, shaking his hand off. "Did I not make myself clear when I punched you in the face? That meant, 'no'! You filthy, rapist fuck!"

The entire group turned to the man even Fiona was outraged. "BLASPHEMY!"

"You have a death wish./"

Rhys moved from his spot as August moved in front of him, glaring the man down.

Maya came out from behind the counter and tugged at the man's ear, sending him to his knees. He was a lot taller than her but just by a single pull, he was writhing in pain.

"Feel free to wreck my bar to your heart's content." Moxxi told them as she leaned back against the wall to watch.

"I think I'll let you guys and Catwoman here have this one. I'm taking Rhys home."

"Can I?"

"Go get him, Catwoman." ordered Sasha as Fiona bared her claws and went in for the attack.

"See ya, Rhys! August." Vaughn and August slipped each other a brofist before they left.

August unlocked his car and opened the door for Rhys, helping him get inside. "You alright?" He was taken by surprise when the brunet pulled him into a kiss.

He looked into his eyes and blushed when he realized what he had just done but he didn't freak out. "I'm fine. I think. I think I'll be fine." He said and turned away from him.

_Did I really just do that?_

August cleared his throat. He wasn't expecting that at all. It caught him off-guard and he was left speechless. Was that Rhys' way of saying "thank you"? He blinked, his cheeks turning a light tint of pink then went to go to the driver's side.

"Hey, I need to ask you something." Rhys said after a moment of silence and watched as August started the car. "How come you didn't kick that guy's ass?"

"It wasn't worth it." He simply replied with a shrug. "I think you handled him just fine from what I saw on his face." Then he turned to him and wiped a bit of blood from the corner of Rhys' lips. "What the hell else did you do to him?"

"Actually, there were two of them." Rhys replied, still a bit distressed from what happened earlier but it wasn't as bad now that he was near August. He felt calmer from the man's touch and relaxed.

"And you fought them off by yourself?!"

"I kinda...bit his hand till it bled while I tried to break one of his fingers."

"Remind me never to let you go anywhere by yourself.

"Duly noted." Rhys said with a sigh. "Just so you know they didn't get to do anything to me. So you don't need to worry."

"Just like I said, you handled it on your own." August said before quickly adding. "Not that I was worried about you or anything."

"But you were speaking so gently to me, I..." Rhys twiddled his fingers, shyly avoiding his eyes. He recalled August speaking to him gently earlier when he had a mental breakdown. The sense of care in his voice when he spoke to Rhys was almost endearing, like he was something so delicate he would break if August wasn't careful. "I thought it was really nice of you. I just wanted to say, thanks."

August nearly rear-ended a parked car when he saw the bright smile on the brunet's face and abruptly stepped on the break.

"Holy shit!" Rhys held onto the dashboard to stop himself from hitting his face. "Try not to get us killed before we get there, okay?"

August merely gave a grunt in reply. He had to hide the look on his face that was shadowed with flustering embarrassment.

"Are you blushing?" Rhys teased as he poked the man's face. "August, you're blushing, aren't you?"

"Shut up!"

"Did I do that?" He chuckled. "It's cuz I'm so cute, huh?"

"No! I'm still a little drunk." August lied.

"Then let me drive!"

"I can drive just fine!"

"I mean if you really want, I could-"

"No."

"August."

"Rhys."

They stared at each other sternly, fighting over who gets to drive. August didn't like anyone else touching his car. They looked away after what felt like a long time. Rhys was sure August would've grabbed him and made out with him if they lasted another second. And as kinky as that sounds, he didn't want to get him off in a public area where there were still people around. Although, the thought sounded really daring and August seemed like that type of person.

Just the thought of going down on him on the passenger seat, rolling his hips as he rode the man's cock. The exchanging of sloppy kisses and breathy moans as their only way of communication. Pulling the other close as they clawed each other, writhing in pleasure as they reached their climax. The feeling of embarrassment rose as it shone on his cheeks. Rhys imagined the sounds he himself made, the needy pleas of want, crying out August's name over and over as he felt the other course throughout his body. He also felt he'd be really noisy about it. He wondered how he would really react but thinking about the man's size, it would be exactly as he expected and he wanted it badly. His heart was racing just thinking about what they would do together.

But then he remembered something about the young man from earlier that had been eating at him for quite some time now. He felt he needed to get it off his chest and wanted August to be the first to know. He decided to wait once they were a bit more private in comparison to the car. Suddenly, his eyes felt heavy then he decided to close his eyes for a few minutes. Minutes then turned to hours as he wound up falling asleep the entire ride back.

August noticed Rhys had fallen asleep but didn't want to wake him. He opened the door to the passenger seat and unclipped the seatbelt before carefully moving it aside. He figured the brunet needed a well-deserved nap and planned on carrying him back to his hotel room but that was short-lived when his head tilted slightly and he jolted up. "I'm up, I'm up!"

"Sleep well?"

"I think so." He then noticed how close he was to his face. "What are you doing?"

"Nothing. I was... just going to wake you." The blond replied, moving away from him.

"Hey, August, I've been wondering." Rhys started to speak up. "You know that guy from earlier with the hair?"

"What about him?"

"Well, he looked like someone I knew." He took a breath. Here it comes. "Her name was Angel. She was... my girlfriend."


	2. Chapter 2

They both sat at the edge of the bed. They didn't utter a single word. It was as if they were waiting for the other to say something. Rhys took a breath, he felt uncertain about how August would feel about this. About Angel, about everything in between. But it didn't matter now. He had something to say and he was going to say it.

"Angel and I have been friends since childhood. We didn't have any siblings since we were neighbors, we kept each other company and our parents didn't mind that we always showed up to each other's houses every day. It wasn't until high school that little Angel became my girlfriend. We made our relationship private from our families for a good four years of high school. It wasn't until the summer after senior graduation that she got the scholarship from her dream university where her dad graduated from. She was so glad when it came to the mail one day. But then that happiness was short-lived until her dad found out about us and she decided to break it off when he threatened to kill me. Me, being the naïve guy that I was, got upset about it and we argued. I was the one who stormed out on her. Before I left, I told her...that I never wanted to see her again... god, I was so stupid." He ran his hands through his hair and gripped tightly, sitting fetal position. "I found out she had gotten in an accident a week after. She was out with some friends on a way to a party, that was when her dad suddenly called me at four in the morning. It brought out a side of him that I never heard before. He was crying, begging me to forgive him. He had already lost his wife and now his daughter. He lost every thing. He wasn't the same after that. But I had told him everything and he learned to accept it. He told me it wasn't my fault. But I still feel like it was."

He glanced at August to see if he was still listening then looked away, the hurt visible in his eyes. He wasn't sure if the other was interested but either way he still wanted to be honest with him.

"A few weeks later, I attended her funeral. I remember reading halfway into her eulogy and broke down in front of everyone. Her dad had to read it on my behalf but even he couldn't hold back tears. Even now, I still think: If I had never said those words would she still be here? Would she be here with me? Some times I wonder what her last thoughts were before...."

August said nothing and felt his heart break when the man started to cry. He watched as Rhys was falling apart right in front of him. "Sometimes I wonder what it's like if I joined her. But I know she wouldn't want that. She'd probably want me to keep living. But I feel like it's only hurting me to keep going like this. What happened earlier... in the men's bathroom, I feel like maybe I deserved it..."

"Don't say that." August clutched his wrist, Rhys flinched at the suddenly contact. "There are a lot of things people think they deserve when they make mistakes. But that isn't something you deserve, that _no one_ deserves. Not even Angel would want that for you. Maybe the you that you were last night was trying to fill in that empty void somehow, trying to forget everything that happened. Maybe her dad is right, you shouldn't take the blame. You aren't the only one who feels that way. I lost my ma, too."

Rhys was quiet, watching him behind his tears. He wiped his eyes and thought for a moment. Were they opening up to each other? This was a whole other side of August that he had never seen before. Was this really him or just a dream? The warmth of the man's hand on his wrist was his only connection to what is real. And this, was all too real to be a dream.

"I think I saw that in the paper." August said. "A drunk driver was on the wrong side of the road, speeding. A two-way collision with-"

"-three injured and one dead, I know. You don't have to remind me."

"Sorry. I'm sorry."

The first time he read it, he vomited his entire breakfast onto the news article. He didn't plan on reading the rest anyway. This was over a month ago but it felt like it happened just recently. It was brutal the way they described it as if she were just a ragdoll, throwing out whatever gruesome adjective they could. But it just didn't fit her. How could they show her senior portrait next to a picture of the accident under such a mess they called "news"!

"So what happened with your mom?"

"I don't wanna talk about it."

"Right. Sorry." Rhys felt bad for asking. He wasn't going to force him if he didn't want to. This just brought him back to thinking of Angel.

Those beautiful, blue eyes and charming smile is what took his breath away. The way her hair fell to her face, the way she smiled at him and how she skipped around in the rain despite how badly it soaked her clothes. That was their first kiss. He would miss how cold her hands were on his face during the winter when she didn't wear gloves and how close they were when they held hands, walking home from school now all he had of her were memories. He felt so alone.

Knowing Angel, she wouldn't want him feeling sad for her. She would want him to move on, to stop thinking of her the way he was thinking about her right now. Was there a reason August was sitting here right next to him, talking to him so gently and being so patient with him like this? He wasn't sure why but his vision blurred and a sob escaped his throat. He cried, he cried so hard that it almost felt good to let it out.

August didn't need to know why Rhys was so broken. He was hurting for so long after bottling something up like this. He looked down at the floor, listening to the brunet's soft sobbing. There wasn't anything he could do, nothing he could say to snap him out of it.

Rhys laughed weakly. "You must think I'm so stupid. Now I know why I did what I did when I was drunk. I guess I just needed whatever can cure this mess."

"I don't think that."

"I just don't know." Rhys whispered softly. The tears still falling from his eyes, unaware that August was now holding his hand.

He was the only thing he had at this moment, the only thing that made him feel like he was every thing. August only hoped Rhys felt the same.

"Rhys..." August leaned in, kissing him gently. He felt a warm hand against his face as he felt Rhys leaning into the kiss, pulling him closer and straddling him.

He pressed himself closer, wrapping his arms around his neck. He shivered when he felt the blond's hand against his skin, slowly making its way under his sweater. "August..." he breathed as he pulled away from the kiss. Rhys felt himself blushing when he realized he was sitting right on top of his lap in such a compromising position before realizing the sweater he was wearing was tossed aside. When did August take it off him? Rhys had already forgotten about the hickies all over his neck from this morning and it had come back to him, making him flustered. He felt really shy despite the two being completely alone in his hotel room.

He gently moved his arms, slowly moving his hands down to the blond's chest. "D-Do you...remember last night when we...when you and I....?"

"I don't know." August moved the hand resting on his thigh, slowly moving up to squeeze his ass gently, making the other stiffen from his touch. "Care to refresh my memory?" He purred as he leaned into Rhys' neck, whispering softly in his ear.

Rhys gulped. He wondered what it would be like if they had done this sober. It reminded him of the first time he saw August this morning. Just laying there asleep, with nothing but the bedsheets covering only a small majority of his skin. He couldn't help but feel excited at the thought of seeing his body again, ready to see his... But that wasn't the only thing that got to him, the sound of his husky voice was enough to drive him crazy. "A-August... I..."

He felt August roll him over to where they switched places, with August on top of him. "Would you like it if I helped you?"

Rhys was sure his brain was completely fried just by the position they were in. Seeing the other tower over him, it was clear who the dominant one was in this situation. But he didn't mind it. As long as he felt August all over him and inside of him, it was totally worth it being on this end.

He shivered as the other sent kisses down his neck to his chest. His breath hitched, he practically melted in the heat of the moment but then realized something. "August, are you...drunk right now?"

"Nope."

"So you didn't drink anything earlier?"

"Someone had to drive." August pointed out. "Besides, you didn't drink any alcohol either, right?"

"Right." Rhys felt his entire body warm up and his face was red. "So, we're about to... we're about to have sex sober, right?"

August chuckled. "I like that idea actually." He leaned up, unbuttoning his shirt and slipped it off as he looked down at Rhys. "I won't let you forget everything this time. I also want to see the look on your face when I'm inside you." He wanted to see Rhys squirm underneath him as he made love to him, to see him arch his back and hear him cry out his name with every thrust.

"Also, you're really cute when you blush."

"Shut up." Rhys looked away shyly, giving August a good view of his neck and the tattoos along his chest and forearm.

"I hope you liked the work I did on your neck."

"It was surprising." Then he remembered the one on his inner thigh and decided not to mention that.

August pulled him into a kiss, pressing closer to him. Rhys' cheeks heated up when he felt the him against his groin. They haven't even gotten completely naked yet and he could already feel him.

He reached down to his hips, slowly moving his hand to remove the brunet's belt then proceeded to take off his pants and his briefs. Rhys squirmed a bit to help him get it off but now he felt embarrassed that August could now see his erection. The other nuzzled up against his neck before softly saying, "I think I might have found something interesting this morning."

"And what would that be?"

Rhys' eyes widened when he saw a bottle of lube in the man's hand. It appeared to already have been used from last night. "I don't ever remember buying that, why do I have that?"

"Who cares who bought it? Might as well use the entire thing." August teased as he breathed lightly against Rhys' skin making the other stiffen.

"You're really enjoying this, aren't you?"

"I'm actually really eager to get inside you already." He purred, smirking as he bit his earlobe.

Rhys gasped softly, he felt so flustered as he laid there naked. It was his first time so he wasn't sure what to do. He wondered what it was like when he was drunk. Perhaps it was messy, hot and steamy? Maybe they did something kinky along the way. What sort of weird kink was he into if he wasn't sober? He then realized the position he was in and closed his legs, only for August spread them open.

A small noise came from Rhys as he closed his legs again. "August, I don't about this..." Rhys was sure he wanted to do this but he was a little uncertain of how it will turn out. Was it going to hurt? Would he wind up hurting August? How was he going to do that? Also what was he supposed to do with his hands? Did he leave them on his sides or was there something he had to do? "How do I...? I mean I've never done this before."

"Wait, what?" August was confused.

"I'm-it's my first time." Rhys stammered as he took a pillow and hid his face.

"So you've never done this with your girlfriend?"

"We never really thought about that." Rhys replied, peeking at him. "She wanted to save that for marriage so all we did was hold hands and kiss. We did share the same bed once but I never tried anything unless she wanted to."

August tousled his hair and smiled. "Well, aren't you a good boyfriend."

"It's not just that. I respected her."

"Don't worry, I'll go slow for you."

"Thanks..." came a meek reply. "I actually don't know what to do, really. Like what do I do with my hands? I know we did this when we, you know, but it feels like a first to me."

"You don't need to worry about that." August said gently with a chuckle. "You'll figure it out when we get into it."

"I-I," Rhys was stumbling on his words. That sounded really vague but he understood.

August snuck a kiss that lingered a bit longer than the last and had him melting. He figured that was his way of saying he would be fine. "So do I just...?" He turned over onto his stomach, wondering if he should make himself comfortable first.

August felt his cheeks burn when he got a full view of the man's ass. Now he was at a loss for words. _He's got a really nice ass..._

He wasn't expecting Rhys to turn onto his stomach. Did he want it from the back? This was the sexiest thing he had seen the brunet do but he didn't plan on staring at him the whole time. He wanted more out of this, wanting to ram into him already as his own erection was starting to get him.

Rhys was eagerly awaiting whatever it was August was going to do but at the same time he felt nervous. Just imagining that massive cock going inside of him was enough to make him impatient and left him hard. He clutched at the sheets, bracing himself then he realized he might be a pillow biter.

August had put some of the lube onto his fingers, gently prodding his hole. Rhys shot up suddenly. "That feels different."

"Just relax, Rhys." He continued to finger him then slowly added another digit inside of him, gently thrusting his fingers.

" _Ahh....mmmm..._ " Rhys moaned softly, adjusting to his fingers and panted. "August.... I want you."

August shivered from the sound of his voice pleading for his dick. His pants tightened, the feeling all to tantalizing but he wanted to play with Rhys a bit longer, to tease him the same way he was being taunted by his adorable mewling. He slowly began to pull out his fingers then suddenly thrusting them back in roughly.

"Ahh.... _nngh!_ Oh, god! August! August... _please!_ " Rhys begged and turned to look at his face. His two-colored eyes welling up with tears from the friction of his fingers, the unfamiliar feeling driving him up a wall, which he wouldn't mind being fucked against right about now.

He leaned down against Rhys' neck, the feeling of his breath caressing the brunet's skin, aware of how it made him feel and how impatient he sounded.

"August..." Rhys whined as it sent shivers down his spine. He wasn't sure how long he could stay like this. It was starting to drive him insane. He just wanted to feel him already.

"I'm not sure what you want, Rhys." August said softly and pulled his fingers out of him, making the other weak and disappointed at the loss.

"I want you." He groaned as he pleaded. "God, why do you like doing this to me?"

"I can do this all day actually," the blond chuckled and kissed his shoulder. He really did like teasing Rhys like this. The facial expressions he made were adorable and almost erotic, he couldn't help but want to keep seeing it. Even his whining was really cute. Those rosy cheeks and pleading eyes made him want him even more. "I'm not sure what you want if you don't tell me, Rhys."

"I hate you so much right now."

He turned onto his back and wrapped, his arms around his neck, pulling down where their foreheads met and clung onto him with his legs around his waist. "I want you," he said clearly this time, his tone was almost demanding. "I want you to fuck me."

"You know, I just might fuck you senseless since you asked so nicely."

Rhys bit down onto the man's lower lip and growled. "Maybe that's what I want you to do."

"Well, aren't we demanding all of a sudden," August teased and pulled him into a rough kiss. "I thought this was going to be gentle love-making?"

"Guess whose fault that is? It's-"

"-Yours." They both said, Rhys glared at him then blushed when he saw the blond's erection.

"Looks like we're going to both have to pay then, don't we?" August chuckled and pulled him closer by his thighs. "Should I go rough?"

"Do whatever you want with me." The brunet said softly, holding onto his shoulders. "I just want you."

"Then you'll have me." Slowly, he entered him. He had only gotten to the tip when Rhys clawed his shoulder and arched his back. August had to stop to make sure he wasn't hurting him. "You alright?"

"Hahh.... Ohhh... Christ, you're bigger than I imagined." He breathed, gripping tightly at the sheets. He knew they didn't go far but the sensation was phenomenal. He took a moment to relax, trying to adjust to his size. "I'll be fine just... _ohhh..._ penis. Not helping. Can't think..."

They were interrupted by a loud, obnoxious ringtone blaring from the floor. It was coming from Rhys' phone.

"Th-That...must be Vaughn calling." He panted, still trying to relax around his cock.

"Don't answer it." August said. "Let it go to voicemail."

"What if it's an emergency-" Rhys was cut off by his lips and pushed down onto the bed. He tightly gripped August by the hair as he cried out into the kiss as he felt his length enter him, the pressure below his stomach heating up. Man was he huge!

\--

Vaughn had his ear to his phone, waiting as the line continued to ring before sending him to voicemail. He hung up and dialed again. "He's not answering."

"Dammit," Sasha cursed. "I might have left my phone in his car. Try calling August."

"I actually don't have his number."

"Let me call him." She said, using her sister's phone.

"Maybe they're having the sex!" Fiona gasped.

"Fiona might be drunk but she's right." Moxxi giggled. "They're probably having a party of their own. It's called a 'body party'."

Vaughn shrugged. "Somehow that doesn't surprise me. That might explain why Rhys hasn't answered. He usually answers after two rings."

"How do they do that, though?" wondered Fiona. "Is it like hide-and-seek up the butt? Find the pony baloney!"

Sasha facepalmed as Vaughn shook his head.

"What I don't understand is how Fiona is drunk but still has her phone."

"Shut up. August's car is the last place I remember."

Vaughn sent a message on his phone. "I'll just text Rhys and he'll get back to us. If he can."

\--

The brunet clawed his hands down August's back, moaning softly. He arched his back as he felt the other's arms around his waist, the repetitive motion of his hips moving against him. The friction of his cock left him writhing, sending waves of pleasure throughout his body. It was slow and gentle at first, the pace August was going was enough to send him over the edge.

The heavy breaths, sloppy kisses and airy moans let the blond know that he wasn't the only one enjoying this. He felt tight at first since he took him by surprise as he thrust his entire cock into him. The way Rhys couldn't keep his hands off him, the needy look in his eyes as he pulled him into a kiss made him forget all the things that happened on that day, as if it didn't happen at all. He held him close, thrusting a bit faster.

"Ahh, August!" Rhys cried out and kissed him deeply. He wasn't sure what he did but he was suddenly seeing stars. He rolled his hips, encouraging his partner to go faster. Whatever it was, he knew he wanted more. For a first, it felt amazing and August knew exactly where to make him feel good. He was already aroused from the gentle motion the other was doing with his hips, it made him weak in the knees. The feeling between his thighs was overwhelming, he felt himself going crazy as he felt that same spot struck over and over again. He was crying out his name with each thrust and held him close, wrapping his legs around him. It felt so good having August inside him, it was no wonder most people were addicted to sex so much. He was just too good at this.

The sensual way Rhys was rolling his hips against his thrusts brought him one step closer to his release. The two moaned as their hips met, Rhys holding onto his shoulders as he came, followed by August soon after.

Rhys dropped his arms and laid back onto the bed, panting heavily. They locked eyes before making out a bit. August nuzzled against the brunet's neck, mumbling softly. "Rhys. I'm not gonna be able to get off you if you don't let go of me."

Rhys still had his legs around him but he didn't want to stop, not just yet. "I don't know," he sighed, teasing him. "Maybe I don't want you to. At least, not until I'm satisfied."

"Was I hearing correctly?" August returned the teasing with his own as he looked him in the eyes. "From what I heard, I think you were enjoying it."

"I think you were holding back."

"Is this your way of saying you want to go again?"

"Mmm... maybe." A coy smile on his lips as he sat up, kissing along his neck.

The blond lightly caressed his thighs before roughly pulling him closer. "I guess I should just start getting serious, then."

"I might be aroused again just by your tone of voice." Rhys purred.

"That makes two of us." August chuckled softly as he began to pull out of him. He hissed when he felt the brunet claw at his shoulder. He didn't feel it from earlier when they were at it but it actually hurt a bit. "Hey, might wanna take it easy with the claws there, kitty?"

"I-Sorry, I don't know why I just..." Rhys didn't want to have him pull out, it felt good to have him inside but he suddenly reacted the way he did. He knew this was going to hurt later or tomorrow but it was worth it. "Oh, so we're giving each other nicknames now?"

"Not unless you can think of one for me." He smirked, roughly thrusting into his sweet spot.

"Oh, god!! August!" Rhys cried out and arched his back. He clawed the sheets and pulled him into a kiss.

All the things he went through, his loss of Angel, the attempt that nearly ruined his life... what he wanted to forget was being washed away by everything he could ask for. Ever since he lost her, he had lost part of himself and was left with only memories of what could have been. He realized now the part he had been missing was right in front of him.

"How's this for...holding back?" August panted as he continued to roughly thrust into him.

"Mmmm...ahhh..." Rhys was trying to come up with words but it wasn't easy with a dick up his ass. "D-Don't...ahhhh... t-talk to me when you're....mmm...inside me!"

It was hard trying to speak as the other made him speechless with the way he moved against him. All he could think about was the man's cock. When he said he was going to get serious he didn't think it'd get better. That was just a ruse to get him to go another round but he didn't think this through when he felt his knees turn to jelly as August bit down on his shoulder.

He loved the closeness of it all, the intimacy of their skin grinding against each other, the warmth of his breath against his neck and the soft kisses they shared. It was fulfilling and Rhys was content with that. Even if they weren't making love like they were right now, he still appreciated August's company throughout all this. The fact that he listened to him and stayed was enough proof for him to know that he cared. But the real question was, would he still be here when he woke up? It was too early to say, just like it was too early for three small little words that meant so much.

Rhys was just so cute. August never knew how much facial expressions the man could make and just how loud he could be. But he didn't care as long as they were close like this. He messed around a lot and usually never stayed or even had a relationship. He never cared enough or bothered to give any time for it. Being around Rhys even for a day made him realize that it was a lot to deal with internally and emotionally. Seeing him so vulnerable, tears of distress in his eyes, it made him want to protect him. He looked better when he was smiling, anyway.

"Y-You're...so cute..."

"Sh-Shut up..." Rhys was lost in the waves of pleasure to think of a good comeback. He threw his head back as he released, pulling him close. "Ahhh....August!"

"Rhys!" He cried as he came.

The two stayed there in silence, the sound of their heavy breathing could only be heard between them. At this point, the other guests knew August's name by now. But at least he made it clear who Rhys belonged to.

Rhys loosened his embrace around him and dropped onto the bed, August laying down next to him. His hair was disheveled, his body damp with sweat and about a few bitemarks here and there, but he still appeared desirable in the blond's eyes. He sighed contently when August took his hand and he gladly took it, snuggling against his arm. He smiled then sat up before straddling him, their hands still glued together.

Curious, he looked up at the man with a smirk on his face. "And what are you up to this time?"

"I don't know about you but," Rhys took his hand, kissing each of his fingertips. "I could go for one more round."

With the hungry look in his eyes, there was no way he could say no. He was also curious as to what the brunet was thinking as he watched the other pour the lube onto his hand, hovering over him.

Rhys felt really nervous at first. He knew what he was going to do but he got flustered as he started to do it but apparently August took it as a look of lust than embarrassment. He was trying to be sexy without seeming awkward and it was working quite well. As he put the lube on his hand, he had to take a breath as he did. _It's not hard, Rhys. No pun intended._ he thought. _Just put that all over his dick. Easy enough. I just...can't get over how huge he is. God, that is amazing._

He reached down and slowly began to stroke him, spreading the lube all over the man's length. He made sure not to miss a single part of his cock. Just the mere sight of it made him hard. They went on for two rounds like this but this time he wanted to try something different and pleasure August for a change. He thought about riding him and got impatient when he thought about it again.

How did Rhys pick up on this so quickly? Not to mention, he was almost taken by surprise when he thought the brunet would turn the tables on him and top this time but he got to watch as the other started to stroke him. He groaned softly, he had to refrain from bucking his hips to make it seem like he was trying to speed him up. He felt it was only fair for Rhys to have a turn, even though he rushed him earlier. He didn't want to end up being teased, despite how much he enjoyed it deep down. He felt his erection get back up again just watching Rhys do as he pleased with him. His breath hitched, gently placing his hands on his hips and said softly, "Rhys."

He shivered, the gentle sound of August saying his name felt pleasant and tantalizing almost. He positioned himself over his cock before slowly going down on him. " _Mmm_... I-I don't think I'll ever...get over how big you are..." he said as he slowly began to ride him.

He never thought Rhys could be so good with his hips nor did he think he still had some energy left in him. He thought the brunet would want to stop the first time and be done with it, little did he know how needy this made him. But he liked it. The way he squirmed under him, the pleasing mewls every time he moved against him and the possessiveness he felt when Rhys held him so close.

Upon first impression, he saw Rhys as someone awkward and immature, who always had such snarky remarks and such a big head transition into someone so shy, submissive and needy when it came to sexual contact. Just what had he done to turn Rhys into something like this? Well, whatever it was, he liked this side of him a lot better.

Rhys held onto his shoulders, only focusing on the man's throbbing erection to think of anything else as he was practically bouncing on top of him. He rolled his hips a bit faster, panting heavily as his cheeks flushed. He was blinded by the bliss of it all as he heard the blond moaning softly and groaned as he felt the other buck his hips, holding onto his thighs tightly to encourage him to keep going. His breaths grew shaky as he slowly moved his hips up before roughly slamming down on him, moaning loudly.

August bucked his hips the same time Rhys had gone down on him hard, reaching a certain spot again that made him into a loud, moaning mess as he cried out his name. He roughly pulled him into a kiss, holding onto him as the other continued moving his hips against his length. "Rhys..." he muttered his name softly into his lips.

"Ahhh..." he stiffened when he felt the other put his hands on his ass, helping him move his hips as his legs started to give in, the pleasure too much for him to take as he was close and he knew August probably was, too.

With one last motion, he moves against his own sweet spot before slipping out the most erotic moan August had ever heard that finally sent him over the edge, leading to his climax. It wasn't long until Rhys rode out his own orgasm before they were reduced to a hot, sweaty mess. He didn't mind when August turned them over and gently pulled out. He was already too tired to do that himself.

"Are you satisfied now?" He panted as he nuzzled against his cheek.

"Yeah," Rhys finally said after catching his breath. "I think so."

"Honestly, I thought you'd finish the first time around." He admitted. "I didn't think you still had the energy."

"That's because I couldn't get enough of you." The brunet chuckled breathlessly.

"I think I might have a good hunch as to why that is." August smirked. "It's from my dick."

Rhys had to gently push his face away and in turn, the blond got a good laugh from his reaction. "Screw you!"

"You just did!" August moved away and laid down next to him.

"I hate you." He was trying to hide a smile. "I...I love you, August."

He looked at Rhys, brushing away the loose hairs from his face and smiled at him. "I love you, too, Rhys."

Rhys' eyes lit up and he looked him in the eyes. "Do you mean it?"

"Of course, I do, you idiot." He chuckled.

Rhys said nothing else but he stayed smiling at him. He was just so happy, words couldn't describe how he felt so he just stared at him with a smile.

August had to turn away from him as the smile just got creepy after a moment of no reply. Then he felt Rhys' arms around him and he snuggled close to him. He could feel his breath at the nape of his neck.

"I call the big spoon!" He pulled him close and cuddled close to him, kissing his shoulder.

"Why do _you_ gotta to be the big spoon?"

"Because I called it!" Rhys replied. "Also, you had your back facing me. So I got to it first." He made a face when he felt something on the man's chest.

August's eyes widened when he knew exactly where his hands were. "Rhys?"

"Is this a...?"

"Don't touch that." He said.

"Why didn't I notice you have a nipple piercing before?"

"It was better off if you didn't know about that."

"That's actually really hot." Rhys blinked but he made sure to move his hand away. He reverted back to the giddy, happy mess he was being and snuggled against his lover. August could have sworn he saw hearts hovering around Rhys. It was really sweet that he could puke if it were anyone else but Rhys was an exception.

They laid there in silence. After what felt like a long time, Rhys was sure August had fallen asleep. "Hey, August?"

"Mmm?"

"Do you think the guy from earlier was Angel?"

"I don't know." He said. "You're the one who really knows what she looks like. Maybe she was trying to look after you."

"Maybe." It wouldn't surprise her if he did. He was always getting himself into trouble and she somehow got him out of it every time and it always worked out. He was thankful she was his still light even when she was no longer with him.

"Do you...think she's happy?"

"Are you happy?"

He thought about it for a moment then he remembered who he was talking to and smiled. "Yeah."

"There's your answer."

August was right. Rhys should have known better than anyone. Angel was gone and the only way she would move on was if he did. It wouldn't be fair to her if he stayed sad over her forever.

"...."

"...."

"August?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you." He said. "For...everything."

August smiled and touched his arm gently. "It's no problem, Rhys."

"You know, I can't help but feel like we forgot something."

It wasn't long until they both came to the same conclusion. 

"Oh snap."

Rhys pulled away from their embrace and shot up from the bed. "Vaughn!"

\--

 

Fiona was already asleep on the counter while Sasha and Vaughn were sitting next to her, waiting. "Do you think they forgot about us?" Sasha couldn't help but wonder. August _was_ their only ride home.

"I'm gonna go call Rhys again." Vaughn said and pulled out his phone, hoping Rhys will answer this time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Why did I find this so funny where they forget about everyone else and now have to put their clothes back on, pick them up and try to think of a good explanation of what they were doing? 
> 
> The answer: **THEY ALREADY KNOW.**
> 
> Also, thanks to whothehe11isbucky for the random headcanon of August having a nipple piercing. Just felt like it needed to be said. :D

**Author's Note:**

> I was trying to make this a huge one shot but decided to give the smut it's very own chapter. It's been awhile since I've written any smut. I hope you like it. ;) And yes, I still love zerhys, I just read one too many August/Rhys fics and all of this happened. Drinking and Driving by Jhené Aiko is totally August/Rhys before I even realized it.
> 
> I love Pandora radio. <3
> 
> P.S. Let me know if there are any mistakes so I can fix it.


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